copal

C3O1P3A1L1
US/ˈkoʊpəl/UK/ˈkəʊp(ə)l/

noun

A resinous exudation from various tropical trees, especially Hymenaea courbaril and Schinus terebinthifolia, used chiefly in making varnishes and printing ink.

OriginSpanish copal ← Classical Nahuatl copalli →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

nouncopal (countable and uncountable, plural copals)

plural copals

  1. countableuncountableA resinous exudation from various tropical trees, especially Hymenaea courbaril and Schinus terebinthifolia, used chiefly in making varnishes and printing ink.
  2. countableuncountableAny of certain trees of the genus Bursera, commonly used in wood-carving.

    2013, Brian Belcher, Bruce M. Campbell, Anthony Cunningham, Carving out a Future Bursera aloexylon belongs to the copals, a group of trees recognized within the ethnotaxonomical Nahuatl system […]

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
copal tree

Origin

  1. Classical Nahuatlcopalli“incense”
  2. Spanishcopal
  3. Englishcopal

From Spanish copal, from Classical Nahuatl copalli (“incense”).

More words from Spanish, Classical Nahuatl

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French copal
  • copaltree resin
Italian copale
  • copaletree resin
Polish kopal
  • kopaltree resin
Portuguese copal, goma copal
  • copaltree resin
  • goma copaltree resin
Russian копал
  • копал (kopal)tree resin
Spanish copal
  • copaltree resin
Tagalog kopal
  • kopaltree resin

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

polac
Cite this entry
APA

copal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/copal

MLA

“copal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/copal. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “copal,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/copal.

Source: copal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.