Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of several aromatic resinous substances used in ointments and incense.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A gum-resin, the product of several trees, originally that of one or more South American species.
- noun The balsam poplar, Populus balsamifera, found from the northern borders of the United States to Alaska: in the variety candicans known as balm of Gilead, and common in cultivation. It is a large broad-leaved poplar with fragrant buds.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A bitter balsamic resin obtained from tropical American trees of the genus Elaphrium (
Elaphrium tomentosum andElaphrium Tacamahaca ), and also from East Indian trees of the genus Calophyllum; also, the resinous exhudation of the balsam poplar. - noun (Bot.) Any tree yielding tacamahac resin, especially, in North America, the balsam poplar, or balm of Gilead (
Populus balsamifera ).
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
bitter balsamic resin orresinous exudation obtained from tropical American trees of the genus Elaphrium (Elaphrum tomentosum and Elaphrum tacamahaca), from East Indian trees of the genus Calophyllum, or from the balsam poplar. - noun Any tree yielding tacamahac resin, especially, in North America, the balsam poplar or balm of Gilead (Populus balsamifera).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun poplar of northeastern North America with broad heart-shaped leaves
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Could it be that tacamahac (Populus) and hackmatack (Larix) got confused (the words, not the trees)?
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Common names for P. balsamifera include balsam poplar, hackmatack, and tacamahac; common names for L. laricina include American larch, tamarack, hackmatack, and black larch.
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The camp had been placed under a beautiful tree -- the tacamahac, or balsam poplar (_Populus balsamifera_).
The Young Voyageurs Boy Hunters in the North Mayne Reid 1850
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The camp had been placed under a beautiful tree -- the tacamahac, or balsam poplar.
Popular Adventure Tales Mayne Reid 1850
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Nor is the balsam-poplar, or tacamahac, less delightfully fragrant, especially while the gummy buds are just beginning to unfold; this is an elegant growing tree, where it has room to expand into boughs.
The Backwoods of Canada Being Letters From The Wife of an Emigrant Officer, Illustrative of the Domestic Economy of British America Catharine Parr Strickland Traill 1850
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“tacamahac,” a species of poplar which grows to a great height and shoots forth yellowish leaves which turn green in the autumn.
The Fur Country 1874
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She bathed the inflamed arm with water, and bound, the cool healing leaves of the _tacamahac_ [Footnote:
Lost in the Backwoods Catharine Parr Strickland Traill 1850
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