castor oil

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a pale, thick oil pressed from castor beans, used medicinally as a laxative and industrially as a lubricant, plasticizer, and chemical feedstock

   Castor oil was once a common household laxative, but it also has many industrial uses.

Recorded in English from 1746. Castor probably reflects the oil's former medicinal use as a substitute for castoreum, a substance obtained from beavers; oil is from Old French oile, ultimately Latin oleum. The plant names castor bean and castor-oil plant were then formed from the name of the oil.

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