gamboge

[ gam-bohj, -boozh ]

/ gæmˈboʊdʒ, -ˈbuʒ /

noun

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

yellow or yellow-orange.

Nearby words

gambit, gamble, gamblers' fallacy, gambling, gambling house, gamboge, gambol, gambrel, gambrel roof, gambrinus, gambusia

Origin of gamboge

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

Related forms

gam·bo·gi·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gamboge

Suppose, for instance, we wish to register the colour of gamboge.
Colour Measurement and Mixture|W. de W. Abney
Any yellow wood can be improved by an alcoholic solution of Persian berries, fustic, turmeric, or gamboge.
French Polishing and Enamelling|Richard Bitmead
When aloes or gamboge is powdered, a few drops of olive oil are commonly added with the same intention.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley
He watched the sun expire in throes of crimson and gamboge, and night unloose her leash of stars.
A Transient Guest|Edgar Saltus

The cavity of the throat, orange, changes to gamboge as it widens; encircling this is a stain of tawny crimson.
The Woodlands Orchids|Frederick Boyle

British Dictionary definitions for gamboge

gamboge

/ (ɡæmˈbəʊdʒ, -ˈbuːʒ) /

noun

a gum resin used as the source of a yellow pigment and as a purgative
the pigment made from this resin

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

a strong yellow colour

Also called (for senses 1, 2): cambogia

Derived Forms

gambogian, adjective

Word Origin for gamboge

C18: from New Latin gambaugium, from Cambodia

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