ambergris
UK /ˈæm.bə.ɡɹɪs/ · US /ˈæm.bɚ.ɡɹɪs/ noun
Forms ambergrises amber-gris amber gris ambergreece amber-greece amber greece ambergrease amber-grease amber grease ambergreese amber-greese ambergrise amber-grise amber grise ambergreace amber-greace
- noun A solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray to blackish color, formed within the intestines of the sperm whale and used in the production of perfumes.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Old French ambre gris (“grey amber”). Though the term was initially spaced as two words, single-word forms predominated by the 19th century. In the 17th century, folk etymologies interpreting the term as amber grease or amber [of] Greece enjoyed some popularity.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A substance of the consistence of wax, found floating in the Indian Ocean and other parts of the tropics, and also as a morbid secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which is believed to be in all cases its true origin.
Etymology [F. ambre gris, i. e., gray amber; F. gris gray, which is of German origin: cf. OS. grîs, G. greis, gray-haired. See Amber.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ambergris”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details