terebinth or turpentine tree, small deciduous tree (Pistacia terebinthus) of the family Anacardiaceae (sumac family), native to the Mediterranean region. It yielded probably the earliest-known form of turpentine, said to have been used in medicine by the ancient Greeks. The yield of the terebinth is now called Chian, Scio, or Cyprian turpentine. The terebinth is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Anacardiaceae.