tung oil

noun

a yellow oil obtained from the seeds of the tung tree

• Syn: ↑Chinese wood oil

• Hypernyms: ↑oil

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noun

Etymology: part translation of Chinese (Pekingese) yu²-t'ung² tung tree oil, from yu² oil + t'ung² tung tree

1. : a pale yellow pungent drying oil obtained chiefly from the seeds of the tung tree and composed of glycerides especially of eleostearic acid and other unsaturated acids, that polymerizes to a hard gel on long standing or on heating, and that is used chiefly in quick-drying varnishes and paints and as a waterproofing agent — called also China wood oil, wood oil

2. : japanese tung oil

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/tung/

a yellow drying oil derived from the seeds of a tung tree, Aleurites fordii, used in varnishes, linoleum, etc.

[1880-85; tung < Chin tóng tung tree]

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tung oil /tung oil/

noun

Wood oil obtained from seeds of the tung tree or Chinese varnish tree (Aleurites fordii or other species)

ORIGIN: Chin tóng

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tung oil,

a poisonous oil obtained from the seeds of the tung tree and related trees of the spurge family; chinawood oil; Japanese wood oil. It is much used in varnishes for its drying quality.

╂[< Chinese (Pekingese or Cantonese) t'ung-yu tung oil]

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n. an oil used as a drying agent in inks, paints, and varnishes. ● This oil is obtained from the seeds of trees of the genus Aleurites, family Euphorbiaceae

Origin:

late 19th cent.: tung, from Chinese