▪ I. camphor, n.
(ˈkæmfə(r), -ɔː(r))
Forms: (4 caumfre), 5–9 camphire, (6 campher, camfory, -ie, camfery, camphora, camfora, canfora), 6–7 camphyre, (champhire, 7 camphory, campheer, -phir, -fer, -fire, canfir, 8 champhor), 7– camphor.
[a. F. camfre, camphre = med.L., Pr., and Pg. camphora, It. canfora, Sp. and Pg. alcanfor, med.Gr. καϕουρά (‘Camphora, quam Aetius caphura nominavit’ Herm. Barbaro, 15th c. commentator on Dioscorides, Devic), a. Arab. kāfūr, in Old Pers. kāpūr, Prakrit kappūram, Skr. karpūram; in Hindī kappūr, kapūr, kāpūr, Malay kāpūr. The European forms are immediately from Arabic, with an for long ā. Various forms of the word occur in 16th c. Eng., but the typical form down to c 1800 was camphire; the mod. camphor is conformed to the Latin.]
1. A whitish translucent crystalline volatile substance, belonging chemically to the vegetable oils, and having a bitter aromatic taste and a strong characteristic smell: it is used in pharmacy, and was formerly in repute as an antaphrodisiac.
common camphor (C10H16O) is prepared by distillation and sublimation from Camphora officinarum (Laurus Camphora), a tree indigenous to Java, Sumatra, Japan, etc., and from other lauraceous trees. Many essential oils, as those of feverfew, lavender, etc., deposit varieties of camphor differing only in their action on polarized light. Borneo camphor or Borneol (C10H18O) is yielded by Dryobalanops Camphora, family Dipteraceæ, a tree growing in Sumatra and Borneo; it is less volatile than common camphor, and has a mingled camphoraceous and peppery smell. Ngai camphor, of the same chemical composition as Borneol, is produced in China and Burmah by the distillation of Blumea balsamifera.
| 1313 in Wardrobe Acc. 7 Edw. II, 20 Caumfre 18d. 1530 Palsgr. 202/2 Camforie or gumme, camfre. 1553 Eden Treat. New Ind. (Arb.) 22 Great plentie of Camphora called camphyre, whiche they affirme to be the gumme of a certayn tree. 1585 Lloyd Treas. Health I. ii, Gume of Arabicke, Dragance, Camfery. 1598 Gilpin Skial. (1878) 35 Tearmes of quick Camphire, & Salt-peeter phrases. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. i. 242 Canfora being compound commeth all from China, and all that which groweth in canes commeth from Borneo. 1605 Timme Quersit. iii. 177 Camphor. 1626 Bacon Sylva §30 Brimstone, Pitch, Champhire, Wildfire..make no such fiery wind, as Gunpowder doth. 1629 Capt. Smith Trav. & Adv. v. 8 Campheer, and powder of Brimstone. 1649 Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. iii. xiv. 15 Intemperance..makes a fair estate evaporate like Camphire, turning it into nothing. 1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden cclxxxiv, In English camphire, camfire, camphor, and camfer. 1661 Boyle Spring of Air ii. i. (1682) 21 Camphire of which a little will fill a room with its odour. 1680 Morden Geog. Rect. (1685) 323 The Canfir of Borneo. 1681 Dryden Sp. Fryar i. Wks. 1725 V. 149 Prescribe her an Ounce of Camphire every Morning..to abate Incontinency. 1764 Churchill Candidate Poems (1769) II. 35 Her loins by the chaste matron Camphire bound. 1781–7 Bp. Watson Chem. Ess. (1789) V. 273 Camphor. 1814 Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. 146 Camphor is used to preserve the collections of Naturalists. 1875 Darwin Insectiv. Pl. ix. 209 Camphor is the only known stimulant for plants. |
† 2. A tree or plant which yields camphor:
esp. Camphora officinarum and
Dryobalanops Camphora; see
prec. sense.
Obs. The shrub called ‘camphire’ in the 1611 version of the Bible is now identified with the
Lawsonia inermis or henna-plant, family Lythraceæ.
| 1570 Levins Manip. 72 Campher, herb, camphora. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iii. ii. 49 Rew, and Savine, and the flowre Of Camphora. 1611 Bible Song of Sol. i. 14 My beloued is vnto me, as a cluster of Camphire [1885 R.V. henna-flowers]. 1633 H. Cogan Pinto's Trav. xxxix. (1663) 156 A Tent pitched upon 12 Ballisters of the wood of Camphire. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 194 Here also grew Camphire, with Spicknard, and Saffron. |
3. attrib. and in
Comb., as
camphor ball,
camphor julep,
camphor oil,
camphor pill,
camphor posset,
camphor tree (see 2).
camphor-chest,
-trunk U.S., a clothes-chest containing camphor as a protection against moths;
camphor ice U.S., a solid preparation of camphor;
camphor laurel Austral. (see
quots.);
camphor-wood, the popular name for several trees (including
prec.) of the families Dipterocarpaceæ and Lauraceæ, or the wood from these trees, which is fragrant.
| 1592 Greene Upst. Courtier (1871) 38 Being curiously washed with no worse than a *Camphor ball. |
| 1861 Mrs. Stowe Pearl of Orr's Isl. i. viii. 59 That ar shawl your mother keeps in her *camfire chist. 1889 R. T. Cooke Steadfast v. 59 Mrs. Dennis was packing away blankets in the camphor chest upstairs. |
| 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Philast. ii. 26 Such *Camphire constitutions as this. |
| 1880 A. A. Hayes New Colorado xv. 197 In the alkali regions, glycerine, or what is called ‘*camphor ice’, should be used on face and hands. |
| 1788 F. Burney Diary 5 Nov. (1891) III. 61, I gave her some *camphor julep. 1835 Dickens Let. (1965) I. 73, I hope you are well and have taken some Camphor Julep. |
| 1894 Proc. R. Soc. Queensland XI. 23 The identity of the camphor of Cinnamomum oliveri with that of *Camphor Laurel was proved by me. 1897 R. T. Baker in Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. XXII. 282 Cinnamomum virens, sp. nov. ‘Wild Camphor Laurel’. 1932 R. H. Anderson Trees N.S.W. 50 Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora). A handsome, dense-topped tree. Ibid. 127 Cinnamomum virens is sometimes known as the Native Camphor Laurel. |
| 1836 Penny Cycl. VI. 204 In that part of the stem [of Dryobalanops Camphora] which should be occupied by the pith it [Borneo camphor] is found along with *camphor-oil. |
| 1671 A. Behn Amorous Pr. iv. iv, To do penance In *Champhire Posset, this month. |
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 448 The leopard..delighteth in the *camphory tree. 1876 Harley Mat. Med. 451 The Camphor Tree is a large and handsome tree with evergreen shining leaves. |
| 1869 Mrs. Stowe Oldtown Folks 34 Mrs. Major had a real Ingy shawl up in her ‘*camphire’ trunk. 1895 Century Mag. July 323/2 Cedar-chest and camphor-trunk and flowered bandbox have been called upon to disgorge their treasures. |
| 1923 Dallimore & Jackson Handbk. Coniferæ ii. 173 Callitris verrucosa, R. Brown. Turpentine Pine..*Camphor Wood; Rock Pine. 1950 C. W. Bond Colonial Timbers 55 In spite of its hardness Borneo camphorwood is pleasant to work. Ibid. 63 East African camphorwood is interesting. 1955 World Timbers (Timber Development Assoc.) II. 9 Borneo Camphorwood [Dryobalanops aromatica] should not be confused with East African Camphorwood (Ocotea usambarensis)..nor with true camphorwood (Cinnamomum camphora). 1965 Austral. Encycl. II. 247/2 Camphorwood is the name standardized in the timber trade for the indigenous C[innamomum] oliveri. |
▪ II. ˈcamphor, v. rare.
[f. prec. n.] trans. To impregnate or wash with camphor; to camphorate. Hence
ˈcamphored ppl. a.| 1562 Whitehorne tr. Macchiavelli's Arte warre (1573) 26 b, Some moiste it..with camphored aqua vitae. 1607 Tourneur Rev. Trag. iii. v, Does every proud and self-affecting Dame Camphire her face for this? 1696 Tryon Misc. 2 Camfired Spirit. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 101 ¶5 Wash-Balls Perfumed, Camphired, and Plain, shall restore Complexions. |