rosin
Americannoun
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Chemistry. the yellowish to amber, translucent, hard, brittle, fragmented resin left after distilling the oil of turpentine from the crude oleoresin of the pine: used chiefly in making varnishes, varnish and paint driers, printing inks, and for rubbing on the bows of such string instruments as the violin.
verb (used with object)
noun
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Also called: colophony. a translucent brittle amber substance produced in the distillation of crude turpentine oleoresin and used esp in making varnishes, printing inks, and sealing waxes and for treating the bows of stringed instruments
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(not in technical usage) another name for resin
verb
Other Word Forms
- rosiny adjective
Etymology
Origin of rosin
1300–50; Middle English < Old French, variant of resine resin
Explanation
Rosin is a sticky, semi-solid substance made from pine tree residue. It has many uses, including making a stringed instrument's bow vibrate more clearly. When you rosin your bow, you apply rosin to it. Rosin is a type of resin, the sticky material exuded by trees and plants. To use rosin, it needs to be heated — at room temperature, it's brittle and hard, but when it's warmed rosin becomes thick and melted. In addition to perfecting the sound of a bow on strings, rosin is also an ingredient in ink, glue, certain types of paper, and soap, among many other uses. The Greek root rhetine means "resin of the pine."
Vocabulary lists containing rosin
Musical Instruments - Middle School
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Musical Instruments - High School
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Vocabulary from poems about consumer society
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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.
They passed time during rain delays playing bocce ball with a rosin bag, and Herbert had to win those competitions too.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2024
Russo now wants to pass along the rosin bag and donut, perhaps for auction.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 3, 2024
“But the rosin is also different than it is in Japan and works well with the balls here.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2024
Tichenor said he was unable to determine the exact substance, but that based on his training it appeared to be more sticky than rosin.
From Washington Times • Aug. 23, 2023
Papa stuffing the good viola case with rosin and strings.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
