turpentine

[ tur-puhn-tahyn ]

noun
  1. any of various oleoresins derived from coniferous trees, especially the longleaf pine, Pinus palustris, and yielding a volatile oil and a resin when distilled.

  2. Also called Chian turpentine. an oleoresin exuded by the terebinth, Pistacia terebinthus.

verb (used with object),tur·pen·tined, tur·pen·tin·ing.
  1. to treat with turpentine; apply turpentine to.

  2. to gather or take crude turpentine from (trees).

Origin of turpentine

1
1275–1325; late Middle English, alteration of Middle English ter(e)bentyn(e) <Medieval Latin ter(e)bentīna, for Latin terebinthīna, noun use of feminine of terebinthīnus of the turpentine tree, equivalent to terebinth(us) turpentine tree (<Greek terébinthos) + -īnus-ine1

Other words from turpentine

  • tur·pen·tin·ic [tur-puhn-tin-ik], /ˌtɜr pənˈtɪn ɪk/, tur·pen·tin·ous [tur-puhn-tin-uhs, ‐tahy-nuhs], /ˌtɜr pənˈtɪn əs, ‐ˈtaɪ nəs/, tur·pen·tin·y [tur-puhn-tahy-nee], /ˈtɜr pənˌtaɪ ni/, adjective
  • un·tur·pen·tined, adjective

Words Nearby turpentine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use turpentine in a sentence

  • Spirits of turpentine rubbed in around the base of the horns, will arrest the disease in its incipient stages.

    Domestic Animals | Richard L. Allen

British Dictionary definitions for turpentine

turpentine

/ (ˈtɜːpənˌtaɪn) /


noun
  1. Also called: gum turpentine any of various viscous oleoresins obtained from various coniferous trees, esp from the longleaf pine, and used as the main source of commercial turpentine

  2. a brownish-yellow sticky viscous oleoresin that exudes from the terebinth tree

  1. Also called: oil of turpentine, spirits of turpentine a colourless flammable volatile liquid with a pungent odour, distilled from turpentine oleoresin. It is an essential oil containing a mixture of terpenes and is used as a solvent for paints and in medicine as a rubefacient and expectorant: Sometimes (esp Brit) shortened to: turps

  2. Also called: turpentine substitute, white spirit (not in technical usage) any one of a number of thinners for paints and varnishes, consisting of fractions of petroleum: Related adjective: terebinthine

verb(tr)
  1. to treat or saturate with turpentine

  2. to extract crude turpentine from (trees)

Origin of turpentine

1
C14 terebentyne, from Medieval Latin terbentīna, from Latin terebinthīna turpentine, from terebinthus the turpentine tree, terebinth

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

Scientific definitions for turpentine

turpentine

[ tûrpən-tīn′ ]


  1. A thin, easily vaporized oil that is distilled from the wood or resin of certain pine trees. It is used as a paint thinner and solvent. Chemical formula: C10H16.

  2. The sticky mixture of resin and oil from which this oil is distilled.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.