storax

[ stawr-aks, stohr- ]

/ ˈstɔr æks, ˈstoʊr- /

noun

a solid resin with a vanillalike odor, obtained from a small tree, Styrax officinalis: formerly used in medicine and perfumery.

a liquid balsam (liquid storax) obtained from species of liquidambar, especially from the wood and inner bark of Liquidambar orientalis (Levant storax), a tree of Asia Minor: used chiefly in medicine and perfumery.

any shrub or tree of the genus Styrax, of the storax family, having elongated clusters of showy, white flowers.

Nearby words

Origin of storax

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin, variant of styrax < Greek stýrax

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

Examples from the Web for storax

Storax, a resin resembling benzoin, was in high esteem from the time of Pliny to the eighteenth century.
The Master of Game|Second Duke of York, Edward
The storax is here chiefly employed to disguise the odour and taste of opium.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley
By moistening ordinary cigars with a strong tincture of cascarilla, to which a little gum benzoin and storax may be added.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
Benzoin and storax are also used, on account of their agreeable odour.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley

You may try a strong ethereal or alcoholic solution of benzoin, tolu, storax, olibanum or labdanum.
Scientific American, Vol. XXXIX.--No. 24. [New Series.], December 14, 1878|Various

British Dictionary definitions for storax

storax

/ (ˈstɔːræks) /

noun

any of numerous styracaceous trees or shrubs of the genus Styrax, of tropical and subtropical regions, having drooping showy white flowers

a vanilla-scented solid resin obtained from one of these trees, Styrax officinalis of the Mediterranean region and SW Asia, formerly used as incense and in perfumery and medicine

a liquid aromatic balsam obtained from liquidambar trees, esp Liquidambar orientalis of SW Asia, and used in perfumery and medicine

Word Origin for storax

C14: via Late Latin from Greek, variant of styrax

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