benzoin

plural benzoins

1. countableuncountableA resinous substance, dry and brittle, obtained from Styrax benzoin, a tree of Sumatra, Java, etc., having a fragrant odor, and slightly aromatic taste. It is used in the preparation of benzoic acid, in medicine, and as a perfume.First known use 16th c.

   Aromatics were used, too, especially in necromancy, and an old recipe of that sort comprises Musk, Myrrh, Frankincense, Red Storax, Mastick, Olibanum, Saffron, Benzoin and Labdanum.

   1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 112

   2 more examples

   These following bodies do not draw: smaragd, achates, corneolus, pearl, jaspis, chalcedonius, alabaster, porphyry, coral, marble, touchstone, haematites, or bloodstone; smyris, ivory, bones, ebontree, cedar, cypress, pitch, softer rosin, camphire, galbanum, ammoniac, storax, benzoin, loadstone, asphaltum.

   1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC

   Nedde: In Arab countries, a mixture of various perfumes, with benzoin and amber predominating, is so called. This mixture, which is black in colour, is formed into a small cylinder and used aphrodisiacally.

   1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 164

2. countableuncountablechemistryAn aromatic hydroxy ketone, 2-hydroxy-1,2-di(phenyl)ethanone, synthesized from benzaldehyde; any derivative of this compound.First known use 19th c.
3. countableuncountableThe spicebush, Lindera benzoin.First known use 19th c.