Definition of "sassywood" in English

noun

1. A form of trial by ordeal in Liberia, typically involving a suspect drinking a poisonous concoction made from the bark of the ordeal tree Erythrophleum guineense, Erythrophleum ivorense, or Erythrophleum suaveolens (called sassy bark); by extension, other forms of trial by ordeal such as applying a heated machete to the suspect's legs, or dipping the suspect's hand into hot oil.

2. The ordeal tree itself, the bark of which is used in the sassywood procedure.