tung oil

American  

[tuhng] / tʌŋ /

noun

1. a yellow drying oil derived from the seeds of a tung tree, Aleurites fordii, used in varnishes, linoleum, etc.

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tung oil British  

/ tʌŋ /

noun

1. Also called: Chinese wood oil.  a fast-drying oil obtained from the seeds of a central Asian euphorbiaceous tree, Aleurites fordii , used in paints, varnishes, etc, as a drying agent and to give a water-resistant finish

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Etymology

Origin of tung oil

1880–85; tung < Chinese tóng tung tree

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tung oil

John Pemberton, founder of San Francisco-based Carlysle Manufacturing, uses tung oil to keep his wood furniture pieces clean and protected and to bring out the grain’s natural richness.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 1, 2016

This was where the tung oil plant was.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 11, 2015

The floors, made of random-width pumpkin pine, have been hand-sanded and finished with tung oil.

From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2010

Out of such ports as Foochow the smugglers shipped much of the tung oil that repaid Chinese Government borrowing from the U.S.

From Time Magazine Archive

This oil is made by heating the raw tung oil at a comparatively low temperature with other oils and a metallic drier such as litharge.

From Paint Technology and Tests by Henry A. Gardner