sappanwood noun1 •Wood of Biancaea sappan (syn. Caesalpinia sappan), a flowering timber tree of the legume family Fabaceae that also yields medicine and red dye.The dye I'm talking about is quite a different thing from indigo or sappanwood [translating verzino]; it's a dye that makes the color of myrtle appear like flesh to people! — 2007 formssappanwoods