castoreum
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.33 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The bitter exudate of the castor sacs of mature beavers, used as a scent mark, and as a tincture in some perfumes.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "One of the substances tried was castoreum.[…]If I were to judge from my own experience, I would say castoreum has very little therapeutic power, for I have not seen much benefit from its employment in those cases to which this remedy is said to be adapted."
- "While the role of castoreum as a means of territorial advertisement has been extensively investigated and supported, the possibility of coding for sex information has not yet been excluded."
- "Synthetic castoreums are now available, and can be as good as the natural fragrant^([sic])."
- "Real oud is complex material, with honey, tobacco, leaf, minty-fresh and castoreum animalic notes all mixed together."
Etymology
From Latin castoreum, from Ancient Greek καστόριον (kastórion).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: castoreum, καστόριον