storax

American  

[stawr-aks, stohr-] / ˈstɔr æks, ˈstoʊr- /

noun

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

2. 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.

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

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storax British  

/ ˈstɔːræks /

noun

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

2. 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

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

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Etymology

Origin of storax

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

Example Sentences

The Spaniards of the Manilas trade throughout the islands of that archipelago, at Borney and Camboa, whence they carry wax, butter, camanguien or storax, ivory, and bezoar.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 29 of 55 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by Various

But ah, alas! the almond-bough And olive-branch is wither'd now; The wine-press now is ta'en from us, The saffron and the calamus; The spice and spikenard hence is gone, The storax and the cinnamon; CHOR.

From A selection from the lyrical poems of Robert Herrick by Palgrave, Francis Turner

They perfumed it with storax, or benzoin, and other perfumes, obtained from tree-resins which are found throughout these forests.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 - Volume 40 of 55 1690-1691 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by Blair, Emma Helen

They were laden with benzoin, storax, pepper, china dishes, and pitch.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 08 by Kerr, Robert

Styrax, stī′raks, n. a genus of plants abounding in resinous and aromatic substances, one species of which produces storax, another benzoin.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various