gamboge

[gam-bohj, -boozh]

noun

1. Also a gum resin from various Asian trees of the genus Garcinia, especially G. hanburyi, used as a yellow pigment and as a cathartic.

2. yellow or yellow-orange.

gamboge

/ -ˈbuːʒ, ɡæmˈbəʊdʒ /

noun

1. 1. a gum resin used as the source of a yellow pigment and as a purgative

   2. the pigment made from this resin

2. any of several tropical Asian trees of the genus Garcinia, esp G. hanburyi, that yield this resin: family Clusiaceae

3. a strong yellow colour

Other Word Forms

• gambogian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gamboge¹

1625–35; < New Latin gambog- (stem of gambogium ), variant of cambog-, after Cambodia

Word History and Origins

Origin of gamboge¹

C18: from New Latin gambaugium, from _Cambodia

Example Sentences

In a palette of chartreuse, ocher, cinnamon and gamboge, Ito overlaid uncommon shapes, such as a rectangle rounded and pinched at the top like a loaf of Wonder Bread, into compositions of preternatural calm.

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Heliotrope, gamboge, umber: the names of colours are as luscious as the hues themselves.

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The accident also deprives Owen of his personal religion, an idiosyncratic pairing of four ancient Greek gods with the colors peridot, gamboge, carmine and ultramarine.

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Say none, sir, and you will be nearer the mark; but, remember, I seek no converts; I ask nobody to deny himself the luxuries of senna and gamboge because I prefer beef and mutton.

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The meat stalls revealed joints of puzzling cut, and were garlanded with gamboge and vermilion sausages, as though the Majorcans' love of bright colours manifested itself even in the food they ate.

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