wood tar

noun

1. a dark viscid product obtained from wood by distillation or by slow burning without flame, used in its natural state to preserve timber, rope, etc., or subjected to further distillation to yield creosote, oils, and a final residuum, wood pitch.

wood tar

noun

1. any tar produced by the destructive distillation of wood: used in producing tarred cord and rope and formerly in medicine as disinfectants and antiseptics

Word History and Origins

Origin of wood tar¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Pittacal, pit′a-kal, n. a blue substance obtained from wood-tar oil and used in dyeing.

From Project Gutenberg

Wood tar likewise protects animal matter from change, by the creosote it contains.

From Project Gutenberg

Coal-tar and wood-tar or pitch, applied hot in thin coats, are also good and cheap preservatives for exposed wood-work.

From Project Gutenberg

Creasote or Kreozote is a term applied to the mixture of crude phenols obtained from the distillation of wood-tar.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a highly refractive, colourless, oily liquid, and was first obtained in 1832 by K. Reichenbach from beech-wood tar.

From Project Gutenberg