spermaceti
1
9.9
A waxy white material from a sperm whale's head used for candles and skin creams
- noun
- /ˌspɜr.məˈsɛ.ti/
- Literature
:
espermaceti
- The historic pharmacy displayed jars full of spermaceti used for ointments and cosmetics.
- spermaceti candles
Examples
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There were spermaceti candles, calico, and a fine assortment of patches; the Stamp Act was repealed.
Fiction book (1993) -
In the past, people used spermaceti to make high-quality candles that burned brightly.
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- This way, the humpbacks go... the blue, the right... the spermaceti.
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Sailors collected spermaceti from sperm whales, utilizing it for various medicinal purposes.
Surface Forms
spermaceti singular
spermacetis plural
Etymology
Spermaceti comes from old words sperm, meaning 'seed' or 'semen', and ceti, meaning 'whale', because sailors once thought the white, waxy oil in the sperm whale's head was whale 'sperm'. That's why spermaceti is the name for the white, waxy substance from the whale that was used for candles and skin creams.