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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.

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