storax

storax
/stawr"aks, stohr"-/, n.
1. a solid resin with a vanillalike odor, obtained from a small tree, Styrax officinalis: formerly used in medicine and perfumery.
2. a liquid balsam (liquid storax) obtained from species of liquidambar, esp. from the wood and inner bark of Liquidambar orientalis (Levant storax), a tree of Asia Minor: used chiefly in medicine and perfumery.
3. any shrub or tree of the genus Styrax, of the storax family, having elongated clusters of showy, white flowers.
[1350-1400; ME < L, var. of styrax < Gk stýrax]

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▪ plant
 any of about 120 species of the genus Styrax, shrubs and trees of the family Styracaceae, mostly in tropical or warm regions. The deciduous leaves are alternate and short-stalked. The white flowers, usually borne in pendulous terminal clusters, have a five-lobed corolla (the petals, collectively). Among the best-known cultivated species are S. japonicum (Japanese snowbell), native to East Asia and growing to about 9 metres (30 feet) tall; S. obassia (fragrant snowbell), native to Japan and growing to about 9 metres; S. americana, native to southeastern North America and growing from 1.8 to 2.7 metres (6 to 9 feet); and S. officinalis (snowdrop bush), native to eastern Europe and Asia Minor and growing to about 6 metres (20 feet). A resin known as storax, used in incense, was formerly obtained from S. officinalis.

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  • storax — [ stɔraks ] n. m. • XVIe; storiaus XIIIe; de styrax ♦ Didact. et vx Résine du styrax. Par appos. Baume storax, contenant cette résine. ● styrax ou storax nom masculin (latin styrax …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • storax — STÓRAX, s.n. Răşină mirositoare extrasă din sucul stiraxului, întrebuinţată in parfumerie şi medicină. – Din fr., lat. storax. Trimis de baron, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  stórax s. n. Trimis de siveco, 10.08.2004. Sursa: Dicţionar ortografic … …   Dicționar Român

  • Storax — Sto rax, n. [L. storax, styrax, Gr. ?. Cf. {Styrax}.] 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • STORAX — apud Terentium in Adelphis, Act. 1. sc. 1. v. 1. Storax, non rediit hâc nocte a cena Aeschinus: nomen pueri est, ab odore, ut ait Donatus. Στύραξ nimirum in Graeca fabula hic puer vocabatur. Est autem Storax, uti Virgilius vocat in Scylla: Et… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • storax — [stôr′aks] n. [ME < L storax, styrax < Gr styrax, of Sem orig., as in Heb tsori, terebinth resin] 1. the aromatic balsam exuded by liquidambar trees, used in medicine and perfumery 2. a fragrant, solid resin obtained from a small, E… …   English World dictionary

  • STORAX — (Gr. στύραξ), a sap with medicinal properties. According to Pliny (Natural History 12:81) and Dioscorides (De materia medica 1:79) it was extracted from trees growing wild in Syria and the vicinity. Some identify it with the balm enumerated among …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Storax — (Styraxliquidus), franz. Storaxliquide, ist der von Liquidambar orientalis Miller im südwestlichen Kleinasien gewonnene Balsam. Aus den vorher durch Einschnitte verletzten Partien des Baumstammes werden Rinden und Holzstücke ausgehackt und daraus …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • storax — ou styrax (sto raks ou sti raks ) s. m. Baume de consistance variable, et d une odeur très agréable, dans laquelle on reconnaît celle de l acide benzoïque. Le storax provient du styrax officinale. HISTORIQUE    XVIe s. •   Pour l alexitere propre …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • storax — STORAX. s. m. Gomme odoriferante qui sort d un arbre de mesme nom. On luy a ordonné du storax. il a pris du storax …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Storax — is also a name for trees in the genus StyraxStorax is the resinous exudate of the Sweetgum ( Liquidambar ), occasionally used in incense or as an aromatic fixative in perfumery. It was used in Eduard Simon s experiments from 1835 1839, eventually …   Wikipedia

  • Storax — Storax, aus Einschnitten in Pflanzen der Pflanzengattung Styrax u. Liquidambar bereiteter körnerartiger Stoff. Es gibt mehrere Sorten: a) S. in Körnern (Styrax in granis), der durch Einschnitte ausgeflossene, an der Luft erhärtete Saft von Styrax …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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