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Webster 1913 Edition

Camphor

Cam′phor

(kăm′fẽr)
,
Noun.
[OE.
camfere
, F.
camphre
(cf. It.
canfora
, Sp.
camfora
,
alcanfor
, LL.
canfora
,
camphora
, NGr.
καφουρά
), fr. Ar.
kāfūr
, prob. fr. Skr.
karpūra
.]
1.
A tough, white, aromatic resin, or gum, obtained from different species of the
Laurus
family, esp. from
Cinnamomum camphara
(the
Laurus camphora
of Linnæus.). Camphor,
C10H16O
, is volatile and fragrant, and is used in medicine as a diaphoretic, a stimulant, or sedative.
☞ The name camphor is also applied to a number of bodies of similar appearance and properties, as
cedar camphor
, obtained from the red or pencil cedar (
Juniperus Virginiana
), and
peppermint camphor
, or
menthol
, obtained from the oil of peppermint.
Camphor oil
(Chem.)
,
name variously given to certain oil-like products, obtained especially from the camphor tree.
–
Camphor tree
,
a large evergreen tree (
Cinnamomum Camphora
) with lax, smooth branches and shining triple-nerved lanceolate leaves, probably native in China, but now cultivated in most warm countries. Camphor is collected by a process of steaming the chips of the wood and subliming the product.

Cam′phor

,
Verb.
T.
To impregnate or wash with camphor; to camphorate.
[R.]
Tatler.

Webster 1828 Edition

Camphor

CAMPHOR

,
Noun.
Properly cafor. A solid concrete juice or exudation, from the laurus camphora, or Indian laurel-tree, a large tree growing wild in Borneo, Sumatra, &c. It is a whitish translucent substance, of granular or foliated fracture, and somewhat unctuous to the feel. It has a bitterish aromatic taste, and a very fragrant smell, and is a powerful diaphoretic.

CAMPHOR

,
Verb.
T.
To impregnate or wash with camphor.

Definition 2024

camphor

camphor

English

Noun

camphor ‎(countable and uncountable, plural camphors)

  1. (organic chemistry) A white transparent waxy crystalline isoprenoid ketone, with a strong pungent odour, used in pharmacy.
    • 1895, H. G. Wells, The Time Machine Chapter X
      I fancied at first the stuff was paraffin wax, and smashed the jar accordingly. But the odour of camphor was unmistakable. It struck me as singularly odd, that among the universal decay, this volatile substance had chanced to survive, perhaps through many thousand years.

Derived terms

Translations

Derived terms

Etymology

From Old French camphore or Medieval Latin camphora, from Arabic كافور, via an Austronesian language such as Malay kapur from Sanskrit कर्पूर ‎(karpūra). It is possible that the Sanskrit term was borrowed from Malay rather than vice versa.

Pronunciation

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