English Explanatory Dictionary

tacamahac

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A bitter balsamic resin or resinous exudation obtained from tropical American trees of the family Burseraceae (Bursera tomentosa and Icica tacamahaca), from East Indian trees of the genus Calophyllum, or from the balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera).
  2. Any tree yielding tacamahac resin, especially, in North America, balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) or balm of Gilead.

Word forms

tacamahac tacamahacs tacamahaca

Etymology

From Spanish, from Nahuatl thecomahaca, to use the spelling of Hernandez 1614. In European languages there was contamination between tacamahac and various Algonquian words containing the final Proto-Algonquian *-a·xkw- (“hardwood or deciduous tree”), including the sources of tamarack and hackmatack, as was already recognized by Chamberlain 1902.

Synonyms

hackmatack tamarack
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