khat

Definition

A shrub, Catha edulis, whose leaves are used as a mild stimulant when chewed or brewed as tea; also a drug produced from this plant.

Etymology

From Arabic قَات (qāt).

Example Sentences

• "They are chewing on khat, a small serrated, bitter leaf with remarkable stimulative properties. […] One of the great things about khat[…] is that after a good chew you need to do something—walking, running, chopping wood, vigorously reciting a poem, throwing a grenade, anything that requires boldness and physical initiative."
• "Of course he was an amateur of quat – hashish – which delighted the cops."
• "‘And skinny Arab beggars who chew qat all day long to kill their appetites and get high on the weed.’"