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.

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Macassar oil British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of Macassar oil

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

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 Leslie, Eliza

Long, long, ye ringlets, on the soil   Of that fat cranium may ye flourish, With plenty of Macassar oil   Thro' many a year your growth to nourish!

From The Complete Poems of Sir Thomas Moore Collected by Himself with Explanatory Notes by Rossetti, William Michael

She despised crinolines, girls, Macassar oil, sewing, and deportment.

From Secret Bread by Jesse, F. Tennyson (Fryniwyd Tennyson)

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 Scott, Michael

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 Poe, Edgar Allan