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

---

Etymology

Origin of carnauba

1850–55; < Brazilian Portuguese < Tupi karanaʾiwa

Example Sentences

This is the culmination of several months of secret on-the-ground investigations into working conditions in the carnauba wax industry.

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

The company said it had helped start an initiative to improve working conditions in production of carnauba wax, and now uses only beeswax.

From New York Times • Apr. 25, 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 Work, Paul