Lexic.us

Definition of Ambergris

1. Noun. Waxy substance secreted by the sperm whale and found floating at sea or washed ashore; used in perfume.

Definition of Ambergris

1. n. A substance of the consistence of wax, found floating in the Indian Ocean and other parts of the tropics, and also as a morbid secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which is believed to be in all cases its true origin. In color it is white, ash- gray, yellow, or black, and often variegated like marble. The floating masses are sometimes from sixty to two hundred and twenty-five pounds in weight. It is wholly volatilized as a white vapor at 212° Fahrenheit, and is highly valued in perfumery.

Definition of Ambergris

1. Noun. A solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish color, produced in the intestines of the sperm whale. It is used in perfumes. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Ambergris

1. [n -ES]

Medical Definition of Ambergris

1. A substance of the consistence of wax, found floating in the Indian Ocean and other parts of the tropics, and also as a morbid secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which is believed to be in all cases its true origin. In colour it is white, ash-gray, yellow, or black, and often variegated like marble. The floating masses are sometimes from sixty to two hundred and twenty-five pounds in weight. It is wholly volatilized as a white vapor at 212 deg Fahrenheit, and is highly valued in perfumery. Origin: F. Ambre gris, i. E, gray amber; F. Gris gray, which is of German origin: cf. OS. Gris, G. Greis, gray-haired. See Amber. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Ambergris

Literary usage of Ambergris

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The American Naturalist by American Society of Naturalists (1869)
"ambergris. — I find in the American Cyclopedia the following account: " It is a morbid secretion of the liver of the Spermaceti Whale, found floating on the ..."

2. All the Year Round by Charles Dickens (1872)
"Any true theory of ambergris, it was admitted, must account for the fact that the pieces ... A safe conclusion, under any hypothesis, was, that ambergris is ..."

3. American Druggist (1891)
"For over a year the price of the best ambergris has now ranged from 180s. to 200s. per ounce,* and until quite lately there did not seem to be any prospect ..."

4. A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry by Thomas Edward Thorpe (1921)
"ambergris is generally found in fragments, but pieces nave been obtained weighing ... Isolated by Pelletier and Caventou, by digesting ambergris in hot ..."

5. Opinions of Eminent Lawyers on Various Points of English Jurisprudence by George Chalmers (1858)
"On the escheat of ambergris, in Jamaica, by the same lawyer. ... relating to some ambergris seized in Jamaica, and the prosecution thereupon, and am humbly ..."

6. Pharmaceutical and Food Analysis: A Manual of Standard Methods for the by Azor Thurston (1922)
"ambergris. ambergris is a fatty, waxy substance, and is supposed to be a morbid secretion ... ambergris has a gray- white color, often with a black streak, ..."

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