Turpentines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of natural resins obtained from specific coniferous trees, commonly used as solvents in paints and varnishes
2. These substances can also serve as antiseptics or in the production of certain chemicals
3. They are derived from distilling the oleoresin of pine trees and are identified by their strong odor and volatile nature

Etymology: The word is the plural of "turpentine", and the plural form is used for the several resins that make up the substance. The base word traces back to the terebinth, a tree of the Mediterranean region whose resin was prized in antiquity. Ancient Greek "terebinthos" named the tree, and the adjective "terebinthinos" described things made from it, with the feminine form "terebinthinē" becoming the noun for the resin itself. That Greek word passed into Latin as "terebinthina" and then into Old French as "terbentine" or "turbentine". English took it in during the Middle Ages as "terebentyne" and related spellings, and the modern shape settled from there. The English word is therefore older than the chemistry that now sorts these resins into families. The link to "terpene" and "terpin" comes from the same chemical root, which is why the names of these compounds share a common ending. In English, "terebinth" and "turpentine" are closely related: the first names the tree, and the second adds the "-ine" suffix to name the product.

Synonyms: resin, gum, oleoresin, pitch, sap