camphor oil

American  

noun

1. a colorless liquid obtained from the wood of the camphor tree by distillation and separation from the solid camphor, used in varnish, soaps, and shoe polish, and in medicine chiefly as a rubefacient.

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camphor oil Scientific  

1. The oil that is obtained from the wood of the camphor tree and is used to make camphor. It is extracted from the wood by steam distillation.

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Etymology

Origin of camphor oil

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Three days later Mr. Fujii abruptly resigned "suffering from a nervous and physical breakdown," according to his doctors, who said they were injecting him with camphor oil.

From Time Magazine Archive

As a stimulant, Dr. Rocchi gave the Pope an injection of camphor oil* and half an hour later he regained consciousness.

From Time Magazine Archive

Despite her dosing him with the cherry pectoral every few hours, and rubbing his chest with camphor oil, he had still hacked most of the night, sometimes having trouble catching his breath.

From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper

The distinguishing property of the camphor oil, that it dissolves many resins, and mixes with drying oils, finds its application for the preparation of varnish.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 460, October 25, 1884 by Various

It furnishes a liquid called camphor oil and a crystalline solid known as Sumatra or Borneo camphor.

From Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture by Saunders, William