Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A white waxy substance obtained chiefly from the head of the sperm whale, consisting of various esters of fatty acids and formerly used for making candles, ointments, and cosmetics.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A peculiar fatty substance contained in the characteristic adipose tissue of the cavity of the head of the spermwhale or cachalot, Physeter or Catodon macrocephalus, and related cetaceans.
- Pertaining to, derived from, or composed of spermaceti or sperm.
- Producing or yielding spermaceti, as the sperm-whales.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A white waxy substance obtained from cavities in the head of the sperm whale, and used making candles, oilments, cosmetics, etc. It consists essentially of ethereal salts of palmitic acid with ethal and other hydrocarbon bases. The substance of spermaceti after the removal of certain impurities is sometimes called
cetin . - noun (Zoöl.) the sperm whale.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
wax obtained from the head ofsperm whales . It is used to makecosmetics etc.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a white waxy substance from oil of the sperm whale
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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This is made into what you call spermaceti candles.
Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag VI An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, Etc. Louisa May Alcott 1860
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They were hunted because of spermaceti, which is this oil-like substance, a liquid which is found in the melon, in this part of the whale's body.
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Almost the only material used for artificially heightening the apparent proportion of stearoptene is said to be spermaceti, which is easily recognizable from its liability to settle down in a solid cake, and from its melting at 122° Fahr., whereas stearoptene fuses at 91. 4° Fahr.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 275, April 9, 1881 Various
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Candles were also made from spermaceti, which is a substance taken from the head of the sperm whale.
Stories of American Life and Adventure Edward Eggleston 1869
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_Spermaceti_: An oily substance found in the head of a species of whale called the spermaceti whale.
American Woman's Home Harriet Beecher Stowe 1853
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_Spermaceti_, an oily substance, found in the head of a species of whale, called the spermaceti whale.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy For the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School Catharine Esther Beecher 1839
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About a quarter of the whale's body is taken up by its massive snout, properly called the spermaceti organ, which is filled with a very fine grade of oil.
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph 2011
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About a quarter of the whale's body is taken up by its massive snout, properly called the spermaceti organ, which is filled with a very fine grade of oil.
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph 2011
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About a quarter of the whale's body is taken up by its massive snout, properly called the spermaceti organ, which is filled with a very fine grade of oil.
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph 2011
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The qualities of the oils thus described, it is to be added that an individual has discovered methods 1. of converting a great part of the oil of the spermaceti whale into the solid substance called spermaceti, heretofore produced from his head alone.
Public Papers 1775
tankexmortis commented on the word spermaceti
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August 20, 2008
vanishedone commented on the word spermaceti
htmltimes.com: 'The head of a Sperm Whale is one fourth the length of it's entire body, and it is filled with a waxy white substance known as spermaceti. It is used by the whales as ballasts. When the fluid was first discovered in the 1700s, it reminded whalers of sperm, hence the name Sperm Whales. To collect this liquid, the whale's head would be cut off and lashed to the side of the ship. A whaler would then bore a man-sized hole in the whale's head and climb inside, chest deep in spermaceti, and hand out buckets— often up to three tons— of the of the waxy liquid. This messy job was done because spermaceti proved to have one exceedingly valuable property. It burned brightly, and it burned evenly.'
November 29, 2008