ˈsealing-wax
[f. sealing vbl. n.1]
a. In early use, beeswax or a composition containing this, in later use a composition consisting of shellac, rosin, and turpentine, prepared for the purpose of receiving the impression of seals. Also attrib.
The modern ‘sealing-wax’ resembles wax in its fusibility and its plasticity when softened by heat, but its superior hardness when solidified renders it more capable of receiving a sharp and durable impression. It is usually coloured scarlet with vermilion, but black sealing wax is used for mourning, and green, blue, etc. for reasons of ornament.
| 13.. Test. Christi 143 in Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. 647 Þe selyng-wax was deore abouȝt,..And tempred al wiþ vermiloun Of my rede blod þat ran doun. 1580–1 Act 23 Eliz. c. 8 §3 Wares wrought with Waxe, as..Staff-Torches, Red Waxe or Sealing Waxe. 1694 Phil. Trans. XVIII. 194, I covered the Cork with Sealing-wax. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 204 Black sealing Wax is..colour'd with Smoak Black. 1849 Noad Electricity (ed. 3) 28 Mr. Woodward strongly recommends the covering the glass pillars..with sealing-wax varnish. 1894 S. R. Bottone Electr. Instr. 191 The top of the cork must also be well coated with sealing wax. |
b. Used attrib., esp. as sealing-wax red, to designate a bright red colour, vermilion.
| 1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 156/2 These Colours Kept in Stock..Sealing wax red..Sky..Stone. 1912 Mrs. P. Campbell Let. Aug. in B. Shaw & Mrs. Campbell (1952) 35 The scullery maids..with their bloody nails and sealing-wax lips make my hair stand on end. 1930 [see post-office red s.v. post office 3]. 1930 A. P. Herbert Water Gipsies xxv. 380 Her lips were the hot sealing-wax lips which she knew he hated. 1939 Burlington Mag. Oct. 162/2 About 1550 the famous ‘sealing-wax red’ first appears on Turkish pottery. 1957 [see Isnik]. |