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linseed oil

American  

noun

  1. a drying oil obtained by pressing flaxseed, used in making paints, printing inks, linoleum, etc.


linseed oil British  

noun

  1. a yellow oil extracted from seeds of the flax plant. It has great drying qualities and is used in making oil paints, printer's ink, linoleum, etc

"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

Etymology

Origin of linseed oil

First recorded in 1540–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Taking a bottle of powdered cadmium sulfide pigment off a shelf, she mixed it with linseed oil and then brushed it on microscope slides to dry.

From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2024

He now mixes a pasty, cold wax in with his linseed oil and paint to create a unique concoction that gives the canvas surface a translucency that he sees as “parallel to the porcelain.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2023

For breakfast, try one of the restaurant's signature juice blends — perhaps the Pick Me Up, made with carrot, apple, orange, lemon, linseed oil and agave — and maybe one of their delectable crêpes.

From Salon • Nov. 26, 2022

The spirit's tasting notes on its aroma say: "Brazil nuts in toffee fill the nose, followed by linseed oil, a suggestion of flowering blackcurrants, sweet, aromatic peat smoke and a hint of tobacco".

From BBC • Jul. 9, 2022

The place was thick with the odor compounded of paint, linseed oil, and turpentine—and after a few moments the subtle aroma of stale beer.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes