storax Meaning, Definition & Usage

Sto"rax noun

Etymology

L. storax, styrax, Gr. . Cf. Styrax.

Definitions

1. Any one of a number of similar complex resins obtained from the bark of several trees and shrubs of the Styrax family. The most common of these is liquid storax, a brown or gray semifluid substance of an agreeable aromatic odor and balsamic taste, sometimes used in perfumery, and in medicine as an expectorant. ✍ A yellow aromatic honeylike substance, resembling, and often confounded with, storax, is obtained from the American sweet gum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua), and is much used as a chewing gum, called sweet gum, and liquid storax. Cf. Liquidambar.