bdellium

American  

[del-ee-uhm, -yuhm] / ˈdɛl i əm, -yəm /

noun

1. a fragrant gum resin obtained from certain plants of the genus Commiphora, family Burseraceae, especially the sub-Saharan trees C. africana and C. wightii.

2. a plant yielding a fragrant gum resin.

3. a substance mentioned in the Bible.

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bdellium British  

/ ˈdɛlɪəm /

noun

1. any of several African or W Asian trees of the burseraceous genus Commiphora that yield a gum resin

2. the aromatic gum resin, similar to myrrh, produced by any of these trees

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Etymology

Origin of bdellium

From Latin, from Greek bdéllion, probably from a Semitic word akin to Hebrew bedhōlah, the name of a fragrant yellowish transparent gum

Example Sentences

Your statement regarding the action of the oxides of gold, in combination with the tungstate of bdellium, has more than in practice verified itself.

From The Brick Moon and Other Stories by Hale, Edward Everett

The other vegetable products which Media furnished, or was believed to furnish, to the ancient world, were bdellium, amomum, cardamomum, gum tragacanth, wild-vine oil, and sagaponum, or the Ferula persica.

From The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 3. (of 7): Media The History, Geography, And Antiquities Of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Parthia, And Sassanian or New Persian Empire; With Maps and Illustrations. by Rawlinson, George

The "bdellium" mentioned by Moses in Genesis is a perfuming gum, resembling frankincense, if not identical with it.

From The Art of Perfumery And Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants by Piesse, George William Septimus

They were brimful of myrobalan, bdellium, saffron, and violets.

From Salammbo by Flaubert, Gustave

"When we are apart I always imagine your face as a face of gold, with eyes and teeth of bdellium, or chalcedony, or agate, or any wonderful unknown stones of appropriate colors."

From An Unsocial Socialist by Shaw, Bernard