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camphor

[ kam-fer ]

noun

, Chemistry, Pharmacology.
  1. a whitish, translucent, crystalline, pleasant-odored terpene ketone, C 10 H 16 O, obtained from the camphor tree, used chiefly in the manufacture of celluloid and in medicine as a counter-irritant for infections and in the treatment of pain and itching.
  2. any substance having medicinal or aromatic characteristics similar to those of camphor.


camphor

/ kæmˈfɒrɪk; ˈkæmfə /

noun

  1. a whitish crystalline aromatic terpene ketone obtained from the wood of the camphor tree or made from pinene: used in the manufacture of celluloid and in medicine as a liniment and treatment for colds. Formula: C 10 H 16 O
“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


camphor

/ kămfər /

  1. A white, gumlike, crystalline compound that has a strong odor. Camphor is volatile and is used as an insect repellent and in making plastics and explosives. Chemical formula: C 10 H 16 O.


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Derived Forms

  • camphoric, adjective
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Other Words From

  • cam·phor·a·ceous [kam-f, uh, -, rey, -sh, uh, s], adjective
  • cam·phor·ic [kam-, fawr, -ik, -, for, -], adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of camphor1

1275–1325; < Medieval Latin, New Latin camphora Arabic kāfūr < Malay kapur chalk, lime, camphor; replacing Middle English caumfre < Anglo-French < Medieval Latin
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Word History and Origins

Origin of camphor1

C15: from Old French camphre, from Medieval Latin camphora, from Arabic kāfūr, from Malay kāpūr chalk; related to Khmer kāpōr camphor
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Example Sentences

Imperial Kitchen, a restaurant in Hong Kong, makes my favorite version: smoked Peking duck with camphor wood spices.

Furs should be kept in a box, alone, and in summer carefully packed, with a quantity of lump camphor to protect from moths.

In this case, never leave home without a straw-covered bottle of brandy, and another of camphor, in your carpet-bag.

The window-curtains were presumably packed in camphor, and the dim panes suggested a cobwebbed and desolate interior.

The camphor tree grows very well here, but I do not know if the gum has ever been collected.

The camphor tree overhead was thrown out darkly against the stars, like its own shadow.

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