Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BRA-ZIL', or BRA-ZIL'-WOOD, n. [Port. braza, a live coal, or glowing fire. This name was given to the wood for its color, and it is said that King Emanuel of Portugal gave this name to the country in America on account of its producing this wood. It was first named Santa Cruz, by its discoverer, Pedro Alvares Cabral. – Lindley's Narrative of Voyage to Brazil. Med. Rep. Hex. 2, vol. 3, 200.]

Brazil, or brazil-wood, or braziletto, is a very heavy wood of a red color, growing in Brazil, and other tropical countries. It is used in manufactures for dyeing red. It is a species of Cæsalpina.