storax
noun
Forms storaxes
- noun Any member of the genus Styrax of about 130 species of large shrubs or small trees, mostly native to temperate or tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
- noun The resin of the oriental sweetgum tree (Liquidambar orientalis), formerly used as a stimulating expectorant.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English storace, storage, storax, storaxe, storrax, from Latin storax, styrax, from Ancient Greek στύραξ (stúrax). Doublet of styrax.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Any one of a number of similar complex resins obtained from the bark of several trees and shrubs of the Styrax family. The most common of these is liquid storax, a brown or gray semifluid substance of an agreeable aromatic odor and balsamic taste, sometimes used in perfumery, and in medicine as an expectorant.
Etymology [L. storax, styrax, Gr. Styrax.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “storax”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details