croton

New Latin, from Ancient Greek κροτών (krotṓn, “tick”), from the size and shape of the seed.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹəʊtən/
• (General American) enPR: krōtʹn, IPA^(key): /ˈkɹoʊt(ə)n/, [ˈkɹoʊ̯ʔn̩]
• Rhymes: -əʊtən

croton (plural crotons)

1. Any of various plants, of the genus Croton, that yield croton oil.
2. A tropical evergreen shrub, Codiaeum variegatum, having glossy foliage, cultivated as a houseplant.
   • 1934, George Orwell, chapter 15, in Burmese Days‎:

     The croton bushes, by day hideous things like jaundiced laurels, were changed by the moon into jagged black and white designs like fantastic wood-cuts.

• contro-, corton