Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A red, resinous substance obtained from various plants, especially the trunks of dragon trees and the fruits of climbing palms of the genus Daemonorops of tropical Asia, formerly used in the manufacture of varnishes and lacquers.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In ceramics, a red color resembling arterial blood, with iridescence, in places, due to the presence of copper; a variety of sang-de-bœuf.
- noun The name of several resins of a dark-red color.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- See Dragon's blood, Dragon's head, etc., under
dragon .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A bright
red resin that is obtained from different species of a number of distinctplant genera :Croton ,Dracaena , Daemonorops, Calamus rotang and Pterocarpus and is used in the manufacture ofvarnishes ,lacquers ,medicines , andincenses .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a dark red resinous substance derived from various trees and used in photoengraving
Etymologies
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Examples
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whichbe commented on the word dragon's blood
A useful and powerful ingredient in love divination and other spells, used in a number of ways but usually involving the fire: "Buy a pennyworth of dragon's blood from a chemist, sprinkle the powder in the fire any night when the clock is striking twelve, and your future husband or wife will appear..." (Billson, 1865: 59-60) It was being used in this way well into the 20th century. Joseph Wright's English Dialect Dictionary glosses Dragon's Blood as the herb Robert (Geranium Robertianum); A.R. Wright (1928: 69) defines it as "the resin from the Calamus draco and certain other trees, used chiefly in varnish-making." (Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore)
-- From Julie K. Rose's blog.
November 7, 2008
john commented on the word dragon's blood
See also sangre de drago.
November 19, 2008
missanthropist commented on the word dragon's blood
In pharmacy, a rosin so named from the dragon's combating with the elephant. It is moderately heavy, friable or brittle, and in the mass of a dusky red; but when powdered of a bright scarlet, it has little smell, an is of a resinous and astringent taste. It is produced from no less than four vegetables of different part of the world.
Daniel Fenning, Royal English Dictionary, 1775
It has been used as an astringent in hemorrhages, etc, but now is rarely employed.
Robley Dunglison, Dictionary of medical Science, 1844
February 4, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word dragon's blood
Usage/historical note on opium. Of all places. And walwort, and aloe wood.
October 9, 2017