ambergris
(noun) waxy substance secreted by the sperm whale and found floating at sea or washed ashore; used in perfume
Source: WordNet® 3.1
ambergris (usually uncountable, plural ambergrises)
A solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish color, produced in the intestines of the sperm whale. It is used in perfumes.
• grey amber, gray amber
• ambregris, grisamber
Source: Wiktionary
Am"ber*gris, n. Etym: [F. ambre gris, i. e., gray amber; F. gris gray, which is of German origin: cf. OS. grîs, G. greis, gray-haired. See Amber.]
Definition: A substance of the consistence of wax, found floating in the Indian Ocean and other parts of the tropics, and also as a morbid secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which is believed to be in all cases its true origin. In color it is white, ash-gray, yellow, or black, and often variegated like marble. The floating masses are sometimes from sixty to two hundred and twenty-five pounds in weight. It is wholly volatilized as a white vapor at 212º Fahrenheit, and is highly valued in perfumery. Dana.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
6 November 2024
(adverb) in a searching manner; “‘Are you really happy with him,’ asked her mother, gazing at Vera searchingly”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
