camphor
UK /ˈkæmfə/ · US /ˈkæmfɚ/ noun
Forms camphors
- noun (organic chemistry) A white transparent waxy crystalline isoprenoid ketone, 1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-one, with a strong pungent odour, used in pharmacy, also known as laurel camphor or common/ordinary camphor.
- noun (organic chemistry) a plant-extracted crystalline substance similar to common camphor, especially Borneo camphor.
Etymology
From Old French camphore or Medieval Latin camphora, from Arabic كَافُور (kāfūr), in turn from an Austronesian word such as Malay kapur.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A tough, white, aromatic resin, or gum, obtained from different species of the Laurus family, esp. from Cinnamomum camphara (the Laurus camphara of Linnæus.). Camphor, C10H16O, is volatile and fragrant, and is used in medicine as a diaphoretic, a stimulant, or sedative.
- noun A gum resembing ordinary camphor, obtained from a tree (Dryobalanops camphora) growing in Sumatra and Borneo; --called also Malay camphor, camphor of Borneo, or borneol. See Borneol.
- verb To impregnate or wash with camphor; to camphorate. [R.] Tatler.
Etymology [OE. camfere, F. camphre (cf. It. camfara, Sp. camfara, alcanfor, LL. camfora, camphara, NGr. kafur, prob. fr. Skr. karpura.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “camphor”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details