copal

[ koh-puhl, -pal ]

/ ˈkoʊ pəl, -pæl /

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noun

a hard, lustrous resin obtained from various tropical trees and used chiefly in making varnishes.

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Origin of copal

1570–80; <Mexican Spanish <Nahuatl copalli

Words nearby copal

cop, copacetic, cop a feel, copaiba, copaiba oil, copal, copalm, Copán, cop a plea, coparcenary, coparcener

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use copal in a sentence

She resembled a fine old wainscotted painting with the face and features shining through a thick incrustation of copal varnish.
The Mirror Of Literature, Amusement, And Instruction|Various
Whistler told us that he used a medium composed of copal, mastic, and turpentine.
The Life of James McNeill Whistler|Elizabeth Robins Pennell
Next day we reach Coquilhatville early and after taking some rubber and gum copal on board leave in the afternoon.
A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State|Marcus Dorman
This, though M. Merimée confesses it does not resemble it in consistence, he still will have to be copal.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 57, No. 356, June, 1845|Various

We spoke in the commencement of this paper, of the "Gummi Fornis," which M. Merimée concluded to be copal.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 57, No. 356, June, 1845|Various

British Dictionary definitions for copal

copal

/ (ˈkəʊpəl, -pæl) /

noun

a hard aromatic resin, yellow, orange, or red in colour, obtained from various tropical trees and used in making varnishes and lacquers

Word Origin for copal

C16: from Spanish, from Nahuatl copalli resin

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