ambergris

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a waxy substance formed in the digestive tract of a sperm whale and historically prized as a perfume fixative

   The perfumer kept a tiny piece of aged ambergris among the rare aromatic materials.

From Old French ambre gris, literally 'grey amber,' used to distinguish the pale marine substance from golden fossil amber. Amber ultimately comes through Arabic anbar, which first denoted ambergris before its meaning shifted toward fossil resin in European languages.

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