copal
[koh-puh l, -pal]
- a hard, lustrous resin obtained from various tropical trees and used chiefly in making varnishes.
Show More
Origin of copal
1570–80; < Mexican Spanish < Nahuatl copalli
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for copal
Historical Examples of copal
Their base is Copal, a fossil, resinous substance of vegetable origin.
Handwork in WoodWilliam Noyes
Use with oil on shellac and with oil or water on copal varnish.
Handwork in WoodWilliam Noyes
This they smeared with a paint made by the admixture of camwood and copal gum.
BonesEdgar Wallace
It is principally employed in the preparation of copal varnish.
A Treatise on Domestic EconomyCatherine Esther Beecher
Father Brandsma is devoting some of his energy to a change in copal gathering.
An African AdventureIsaac F. Marcosson
copal
- a hard aromatic resin, yellow, orange, or red in colour, obtained from various tropical trees and used in making varnishes and lacquers
Show More
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