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carnauba

American  
[kahr-nou-buh, -naw-, -noo-] / kɑrˈnaʊ bə, -ˈnɔ-, -ˈnu- /

noun

  1. a palm, Copernicia prunifera, of Brazil, having palmate leaves covered with wax.

  2. Also called carnauba wax. the hard, lustrous wax obtained from the leaves of this tree, used as a polish or floor wax.


carnauba British  
/ kɑːˈnaʊbə /

noun

  1. Also called: wax palm. a Brazilian fan palm, Copernicia cerifera

  2. Also called: carnauba wax. the wax obtained from the young leaves of this tree, used esp as a polish

"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

Etymology

Origin of carnauba

1850–55; < Brazilian Portuguese < Tupi karanaʾiwa

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Last year, 114 workers were rescued from carnauba plantations, Brazilian government figures show - a nine-year high.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2024

Standard American chocolate sprinkles have almost no chocolate, and are coated with carnauba wax, harvested from leaves of Brazilian carnauba palms.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 12, 2023

According to a now-archived blog post by the university, after an hour, "all that remained in the beaker was a pair of brown carnauba wax eyes floating in a purple Phenol soup."

From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2023

Their blended wax, according to the brand, includes beeswax, paraffin and carnauba.

From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2022

Waxing of tomatoes by immersion in a dilute water emulsion of paraffine and carnauba waxes is being tried out with very promising results.

From The Tomato by Paul Work

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