Macassar oil

American  

noun

1. an oil derived from materials said to be obtained from Macassar, formerly used as a hairdressing.

2. a similar oil or preparation for the hair.

---

Macassar oil British  

noun

1. an oily preparation formerly put on the hair to make it smooth and shiny

---

Etymology

Origin of Macassar oil

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Macassar oil

Ah! he made no bones about it; he guessed our thoughts at the first word; he has given us the means of annihilating Macassar oil.

From Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau by Honoré de Balzac

Alas and alack—a—day! in place of ringlets, glossy with Macassar oil, I found a cool young tender plantain—leaf bound round my temples.

From Tom Cringle's Log by Michael Scott

My dear Monsieur Birotteau," said Vauquelin, "there are not two ounces of Macassar oil in all Europe.

From Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau by Honoré de Balzac

And in spite of Macassar oil, and bear's oil, and other certain promoters of luxuriant, soft, and glossy tresses, her locks continued scanty, stringy, stiff, and disorderly.

From Pencil Sketches or, Outlines of Character and Manners by Eliza Leslie

Their tails, at a legislative price, now bring me in a good income; for I have discovered a way, in which, by means of Macassar oil, I can force three crops in a year.

From The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 4 by Edgar Allan Poe