Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A brownish aromatic resin used in perfume and medicine and obtained from any of several trees of the genus Liquidambar, especially L. orientalis, of Turkey.
- noun An aromatic resin obtained from a Mediterranean species of snowbell.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A solid resin resembling benzoin, with the fragrance of vanilla, formerly obtained from a small tree, Styrax officinalis, of Asia Minor and Syria.
- noun The tree yielding storax, or some other tree or shrub of the same genus.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun 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 substance of an agreeable aromatic odor and balsamic taste, sometimes used in perfumery, and in medicine as an expectorant.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any member of the
genus Styrax oftrees andshrubs . - noun The
resin of theoriental sweetgum tree (Liquidambar orientalis).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a vanilla-scented resin from various trees of the genus Styrax
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word storax.
Examples
-
Frankincense they collect by burning the storax, which is brought thence to the Hellenes by the
The History of Herodotus Herodotus 2003
-
Take half an ounce of samphire, dissolve it in two ounces of aquævitæ, add to it one ounce of quicksilver, one ounce of liquid storax, which is the droppings of Myrrh and hinders the camphire from firing; take also two ounces of hematitus, a red stone to be had at the druggist's, and when you buy it let them beat it to powder in their great mortar, for it is so very hard that it cannot be done in a small one; put this to the afore-mentioned composition, and when you intend to walk on the bar you must annoint your feet well therewith, and you may walk over without danger: by this you may wash your hands in boiling lead.
-
Take half an ounce of samphire, dissolve it in two ounces of aquaevitae, add to it one ounce of quicksilver, one ounce of liquid storax, which is the droppings of Myrrh and hinders the camphire from firing; take also two ounces of hematitus, a red stone to be had at the druggist's, and when you buy it let them beat it to powder in their great mortar, for it is so very hard that it cannot be done in a small one; put this to the afore-mentioned composition, and when you intend to walk on the bar you must annoint your feet well therewith, and you may walk over without danger: by this you may wash your hands in boiling lead.
The Miracle Mongers, an Exposé Harry Houdini 1900
-
Frankincense they collect by burning the storax, which is brought thence to the Hellenes by the Phenicians, by burning this, I say, so as to produce smoke they take it; for these trees which produce frankincense are guarded by winged serpents, small in size and of various colours, which watch in great numbers about each tree, of the same kind as those which attempt to invade Egypt: [97a] and they cannot be driven away from the trees by any other thing but only the smoke of storax.
The history of Herodotus — Volume 1 480? BC-420? BC Herodotus 1883
-
The corona of candlelight and the vanilla halo of storax ringed her concentrically, as if she were twice blessed, a double madonna.
-
Paying him little heed when he entered, Kudra remained bent over a large candle, heating some newly purchased storax resin in a metal cup.
-
As it relaxed its grip on itself, the wad of storax caused the room to smell like the center of a chocolate cream.
-
A resinoid of storax, fixed with tincture of labdanum (pressed from the fatty arteries of the rockrose), proved a sufficient camouflage for a walk around the block, but it had no more staying power than patchouli.
-
The notes in Burnt Amber blend convincingly, creating an illusionary world where sweetness is dry and smoke is moist… In one breath, oozing honey, balsams, labdanum and storax crystallize themselves into incense resins burning with thick, lung-invading smoke that uplifts the spirits and hugs the heart.
Archive 2008-03-01 Ayala Sender 2008
-
The notes in Burnt Amber blend convincingly, creating an illusionary world where sweetness is dry and smoke is moist… In one breath, oozing honey, balsams, labdanum and storax crystallize themselves into incense resins burning with thick, lung-invading smoke that uplifts the spirits and hugs the heart.
Burnt Amber Ayala Sender 2008
chained_bear commented on the word storax
usage on confectio damocritis and confectio Damocritis. (Entered before Wordie/Wordnik recognized capital letters.)
October 16, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word storax
"When the Eastern spices arrived, they slotted right in. They were certainly there by the fourth century, when Theophrastus, who wrote an entire book on the subject of perfumes, says that the necessary aromatics came from either India or Arabia, mentioning cassia, cinnamon, and cardamom by name. Other ingredients were nearer to hand, such as balsam of Mecca, storax, saffron, marjoram, and myrrh....
* Storax is the aromatic resin obtained from the shrub Styrax officinalis, native to eastern Europe and Asia Minor. It was widely used in ancient incense."
--Jack Turner, _Spice: The History of a Temptation_ (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004), 206
Another usage/historical note can be found in comment on pomander, and in a translated primary source from ca. 900 on perfumer.
December 5, 2016