any of several tropical American trees of the genus Schinopsis, having very hard wood, especially S. lorentzii, the wood and bark of which are important in tanning and dyeing.
2.
a tree, Aspidosperma quebrachoblanco, of the dogbane family, yielding a medicinal bark.
3.
the wood or bark of any of these trees.
Origin: 1880–85; < American Spanish, variant of quiebracha, quiebra-hacha literally, (it) breaks (the) hatchet; see quebrada, hatchet