wood tar

7.3

A dark sticky liquid made by heating wood that protects things from water

noun
/wʊd tɑr/

Specialized

: alquitrán de madera

Traditional boats were often sealed with wood tar to protect them from water damage.

Examples

The carpenter used wood tar to preserve the wooden beams.
The pungent smell of wood tar lingered in the air after the process was complete.
Old medical remedies sometimes included small amounts of wood tar as an ingredient.
He applied wood tar on the roof to prevent leaks.
Traditional boats were often sealed with wood tar to protect them from water damage.
The pungent smell of wood tar lingered in the air after the process was complete.
He applied wood tar on the roof to prevent leaks.

Synonyms

tar

vswood tar

65 4.1

A thick dark sticky substance used to make roads and roofs waterproof

is broader, covering residues from many organic sources used for heavy waterproofing

pine tar

vswood tar

6.3

A dark sticky substance from pine wood used to waterproof wood and soothe skin

is produced from general tree timber and used as a preservative or chemical feedstock

Surface Forms

wood tar singular

wood tars plural

Morphology

wood + tar

The noun denotes tar that comes from wood, which is directly and compositionally derived from the constituents 'wood' and 'tar'. This kind of noun-noun compound is a productive, cross-linguistic pattern and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Wood tar comes from an old craft: people heated wood in a covered pit so it did not burn fully, and a thick, sticky black tar ran out that they used to seal boats and protect wood. So, the name means 'a dark, sticky liquid used to protect and waterproof wood'.