Lĭg'num-vī'tæ, n.

n. [Lat., wood of life, from lignum, wood, and vita, genitive vitæ, life.] (Bot.) A tree (Guaiacum officinale) found in the warm latitudes of America, from which the guaiacum of medicine is procured. Its wood, from its hardness, is used for various mechanical purposes, as for the wheels of ships' blocks, cogs, bearings, and the like. See GUALACUM.