copal Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a brittle aromatic resin used in varnishes

WordNet

Co"pal
Etymology
Sp., fr. Mexican copalli, generic name of resins. Clavigero.
Definitions
  1. A resinous substance flowing spontaneously from trees of Zanzibar, Madagascar, and South America (Trachylobium Hornemannianum, T. verrocosum, and Hymenæa Courbaril), and dug from earth where forests have stood in Africa; -- used chiefly in making varnishes. Ur.

Webster 1913