tolu

[ taw-loo, tuh- ]

/ tɔˈlu, tə- /

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noun

Also called tolu balsam, balsam of tolu, tolu resin. a fragrant, yellowish-brown balsam or resin obtained from a South American leguminous tree, Myroxylon balsamum, and used in medicine as a stomachic and expectorant, and in perfumery.

the tree itself.

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Origin of tolu

First recorded in 1665–75; after Tolú (now Santiago de Tolú) in Colombia, where balsam is obtained

Words nearby tolu

tolnaftate, Tolpuddle Martyrs, Tolstoy, Tolstoy, Leo, Toltec, tolu, toluate, Toluca, toluene, toluic, toluic acid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tolu in a sentence

Its medicinal qualities are intermediate to those of the aromatic turpentines and balsam of tolu.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
The Chinese josticks are of a similar composition, but contain no Tolu.
The Art of Perfumery|G. W. Septimus Piesse
Storax and Tolu are used in perfumery in the same way as benzoin, namely, by solution in spirit as a tincture.
The Art of Perfumery|G. W. Septimus Piesse
An Achena offered Tolu five hundred francs to kill the head of the Stacca family.
Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs (1886)|Countess Evelyn Martinengo-Cesaresco

Tolu not only refused, he did not rest till he had brought about a reconciliation between the two houses.
Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs (1886)|Countess Evelyn Martinengo-Cesaresco

British Dictionary definitions for tolu

tolu

/ (tɒˈluː) /

noun

an aromatic balsam obtained from a South American tree, Myroxylon balsamumSee balsam (def. 1)

Word Origin for tolu

C17: after Santiago de Tolu, Colombia, from which it was exported

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