English
lipstick tree
From lipstick + tree, from the resemblance of the open fruit pods of the plant to red lips, or from the fact that the consistency of the arils surrounding its seeds is similar to that of lipstick (see the 1942 quotation).
Proto-Indo-European *dóru
Proto-Germanic *trewą
Proto-West Germanic *treu
Old English trēo ‘tree’
Middle English trau
English tree
Today it means
noun The shrub Bixa orellana, which is native to Mexico and northern South America; the arils covering its seeds are a source of the orange-red colourant annatto, and the ground seeds are used in traditional Caribbean, Central American, and South American cuisine.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / lipstick tree