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sandarac

[san-duh-rak]
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noun
  1. a coniferous tree, Tetraclinis articulata (Callitrus quadrivalvis), native to northwestern Africa, yielding a resin and a fragrant, hard, dark-colored wood much used in building.
  2. the brittle, usually pale-yellow, faintly aromatic resin exuding from the bark of this tree: used chiefly as incense and in making varnish.

Origin of sandarac

1350–1400; Middle English sandaracha < Latin sandaraca < Greek sandarákē realgar, beebread
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sandarac

Historical Examples

  • Always the eraser and the sandarac, the same inkstand, the same pens, and the same companions.

    Bouvard and Pcuchet

    Gustave Flaubert

British Dictionary definitions for sandarac

sandarac

sandarach

noun
  1. Also called: sandarac tree either of two coniferous trees, Tetraclinis articulata of N Africa or Callistris endlicheri of Australia, having hard fragrant dark wood: family Cupressaceae
  2. a brittle pale yellow transparent resin obtained from the bark of this tree and used in making varnish and incense
  3. Also called: citron wood the wood of this tree, used in building

Word Origin

C16 sandaracha, from Latin sandaraca red pigment, from Greek sandarakē
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012