sandalwood

plural sandalwoods · alternative sandal-wood

1. countableuncountableAny of various tropical trees of the genus Santalum, native or long naturalized in India, Australia, Hawaii, and many south Pacific islands.
2. countableuncountableThe aromatic heartwood of these trees used in ornamental carving, in the construction of insect-repellent boxes and chests, and as a source of certain perfumes.

   Sandalwood is a favorite cosmetic with Burmese ladies.

   1873, Edward Balfour, editor, Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, Commercial, Industrial and Scientific: Products of the Mineral, Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures, volume 5, page 133

   3 more examples

   You ſhall put in a little bag the Powder of Sandalwood with the aforeſaid well-ſcenting Spices, and heart-ſtrengthening Powders, and lay it warm upon the left breaſt.

   1680, T. K., The Kitchin-Phyſician; Or, a Guide for Good-Housewives in Maintaining Their Families in Health. […] , To cure the Palpitation of the Heart, page 70

   The branches of the white cedar will keep off moths when placed amongst clothes or furs. Boxes of red cedar (cedar of Lebanon) will do the same, as also sandalwood.

   1847, R. G. A. Levinge, Echoes from the Backwoods; Or, Sketches of Transatlantic Life, second edition, volume 1, London: Henry Colburn, Appendix § Notes on the Trees of New Brunswick, page 288

   Wines can be described with words like cigar box and “pencil lead,” or flinty or with hints of sandalwood — oenophiles can veer into what many might deem pretentiousness pretty quick.

   2023 March 24, Laura Reiley, “Could nonalcoholic wine be the toast of the town?”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 15 May 2023

1. informalThe Kannada film industry located in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.