Definition: Turpentine
Etymology
From Middle English terebentyne, terbentyne, turbentine, from Old French terbentine, turbentine, ultimately from Ancient Greek Ï„ÎÏμινθος or términthos (terebinth).
Noun
turpentine (countable and uncountable, plural turpentines)
- Any oleoresin secreted by the wood or bark of certain trees.
- A volatile essential oil now obtained from such oleoresin from the wood of pine trees by steam distillation; a complex mixture of monoterpenes; now used as a solvent and paint thinner.
Derived terms
- Canadian turpentine
- common turpentine
- crude turpentine
- Cyprus turpentine
- French turpentine
- gum turpentine
- Hungarian turpentine
- larch turpentine
- mineral turpentine
- Russian turpentine
- white turpentine
Related terms
- terebic
- terebinth
- terpene
Verb
turpentine (third-person singular simple present turpentines, present participle turpentining, simple past and past participle turpentined)
- To drain resin from (a tree) for use in making turpentine.
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors copied and adjusted this Wiktionary entry in accordance with NWE standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit for this article is due to both New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions at Wiktionary is accessible to researchers here:
