Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. See rubber1.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An elastic gummy substance, the inspissated milky juice of various tropical trees belonging to the natural orders Apocynaceæ, Urticaceæ, and Euphorbiaceæ; india-rubber (which see).
- n. Products more or less resembling caoutchouc are obtained by the application of the vulcanizing process to colza and other oils, and are employed to mix with or partly replace real india-rubber. A substance which seems to be identical with natural caoutchouc has been obtained in the scientific laboratory by polymerization of isoprene, a hydrocarbon derived from turpentine; but the process has not become commercially practical.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A tenacious, elastic, gummy substance obtained from the milky sap of several plants of tropical South America (esp. the euphorbiaceous tree Siphonia elastica or Hevea caoutchouc), Asia, and Africa. Being impermeable to liquids and gases, and not readly affected by exposure to air, acids, and alkalies, it is used, especially when vulcanized, for many purposes in the arts and in manufactures. Also called
India rubber (because it was first brought from India, and was formerly used chiefly for erasing pencil marks) andgum elastic . See vulcanization.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an elastic material obtained from the latex sap of trees (especially trees of the genera Hevea and Ficus) that can be vulcanized and finished into a variety of products
Etymologies
- French caoutchouc, from the South American name. (Wiktionary)
- French, probably from Spanish caucho, from Tupi cau-ucha. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The tree furnishes a viscid juice containing caoutchouc, which is used as glue for calking canoes.”
Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture
“We have already mentioned that the caoutchouc is the oily part, the butter of all vegetable milk.”
“It is no doubt occasioned by the caoutchouc, which is not yet separated, and which forms one mass with the albumen and the caseum, as the butter and the caseum in animal milk.”
“a meteorite, and the interior was lined with caoutchouc, which is a non-conductor of heat, as well as air-proof.”
“In Lower Congo contact with the Portuguese has influenced the ideas and habits of the Blacks; it has taught them the commercial value of certain products, such as caoutchouc, and brought them under the enervating influence of alcohol; here the race has degenerated.”
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 4: Clandestinity-Diocesan Chancery
“It is useful for other purposes; for the lac-insect feeds upon its leaves, and the women get a kind of caoutchouc from its sap, which they use as bandoline. ”
“There's nothing in life quite like strapping something five feet wide to the back of one's bicycle with caoutchouc.”
“Desossés,hommes caoutchouc,boule de gomme,hommes serpents, femmes couleuvres,acrobates contorsionnistes qui défient les lois de l'anatomie humaine...”
“C'est un peu comme le mot caoutchouc qui se prononce élastique ou le beurre de cacahuètes que l'on trouve dans les magasins sous le nom de beurre d'arrachides.”
“In the construction of this instrument they make use of caoutchouc, which, with a variety of other gums, is found in different parts of this country.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘caoutchouc’.
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250 Extra Spelling Words
Some more words for intermediate and advanced spellers.
cultellarius, barouche, palanquin, badelaire, cavetto, tregetour, tergiversate, rhododendron, rhadamanthine, thyrsus, cappelletti, bradycardia and 238 more...
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Especially
Being a list of words which have "especially" in their definitions.
wringing-machine, especially, device, field, scrip, hit, catch, take, buck, flip, effluvium, proselyte and 107 more...
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Ends with C but not with "-ic"
bloc, roc, arc, orc, disc, sac, xebec, havoc, bivouac, sumac, maniac, insomniac and 418 more...
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Steampunk
Words used quite often in steampunk
ansible, airship, chymical, valve, clockwork, dirigible, thaumaturgy, copper, bronze, difference engine, gear, rivets and 516 more...
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Words that are Spelled Unfairly
Tympaniform, splenomegaly, zuccaciyecioglu, U-n-f-a-i-r-l-y, siliqyiform, sarcophagous, glycyrrhizin, koinonia, isarithm, caoutchouc, sempiternal
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Ezzackly's list
Words I like.
exacerbate, queerious, whom, hyperbolic, paradoxically, consequently, anana, forte, indicative, agnostic, monotonous, supposedly and 18 more...
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Good Words
fenestering, cetic, immanent, quickening, archetypal, shibboleth, soma, wetware, heritable, Apotheosis, halcyon, cellar door and 482 more...
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billfence's Words
quotidian, flux, sawbuck, horsefeathers, chalcedony, harp, no, fox, tennis, badminton, flue, charm and 186 more...
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NTDW1
template, modal, sublingual, tandem, polycentric, septuagenarian, token, irrevocable, denotive, augural, aberrant, phlebotomy and 1188 more...
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Madame Bovary
Some good words (chiefly French of origin, and often to do with the medical profession) encountered reading the Aveling translation -- mostly new to me, but a few words that are just worthy of bein...
tulle, argand, friable, corolla, lives of stir, difficile, rime, inveigh, feuilleton, peristyle, refulgence, wainscoting and 98 more...
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use•ful
palmary, glossolalia, bothum, high-proof, synesthesia, odious, autochthonous, yawp, mordacious, dynamo, dishevel, titely and 414 more...
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19 c.
some of the interesting words i've had to look up while reading 19th century lit
maugre, connate, alembic, azote, vaticination, valetudinarian, dight, scutcheon, lammergeyer, chamois, asseverate, prebendary and 199 more...
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Gums & Resins
Naturally occurring gums and resins.
amber, copal, dammar, mastic, sandarac, ammoniacum, gamboge, elemi, scammony, myrrh, turpentine, copaiba and 155 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, C
cryptoxanthin, convent, calcar, chuckle, campanile, covet, complexion, campestral, chirography, counterscarp, caliginous, catabolism and 722 more...
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favorite words, any language!!
because of the way they sound or way theyre spelled, or its meaning, anything!!
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words in foreign languages
weltanschauung, saudade, bokeh, caoutchouc, pamplemousse, citrouille, nocturne, kaddish, matryoshka, tournesol, weltschmerz, duende and 56 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for caoutchouc.
ruzuzu Ça plane pour moi! Ça plane pour moi! Apr 8, 2011
ezzackly Allez hop! un matin
Une louloute est venue chez-moi
Poupee de cellophane, cheveux chinois
un sparadrap, une gueule de bois
a bu ma biere dans un grand verre en caoutchouc
Oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!
Comme un indien dans son igloo May 9, 2009