myrrh

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. An aromatic gum resin obtained from several trees and shrubs of the genus Commiphora of India, Arabia, and eastern Africa, used in perfume and incense. Also called balm of Gilead.
2. n. See sweet cicely.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A gummy resinous exudation from several species of Commiphora (Balsamodendron). The largest part, and the proper myrrh, is derived from C. Myrrha, a spiny shrub with scanty foliage, small green axillary flowers, and small oval fruits. The myrrh of Scripture was doubtless largely obtained from this plant. For a second kind, see besabol. A third is from the same plant as the balm of Gilead (which see, under balm). These plants are found in parts of Arabia and eastern Africa. Myrrh is an astringent tonic. It is also used for incense, perfumery, and minor purposes. The myrrh carried by the Ishmaelites into Egypt is thought to have been the same as ladanum. See Commiphora, and compare bdellium.
2. n. The sweet cicely of Europe. See Myrrhis.

Wiktionary

1. n. A red-brown resinous material, the dried sap of the Commiphora myrrha tree.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A gum resin, usually of a yellowish brown or amber color, of an aromatic odor, and a bitter, slightly pungent taste. It is valued for its odor and for its medicinal properties. It exudes from the bark of a shrub of Abyssinia and Arabia, the Commiphora Myrrha (syn. Balsamodendron Myrrha) of the family Burseraceae, or from the Commiphora abyssinica. The myrrh of the Bible is supposed to have been partly the gum above named, and partly the exudation of species of Cistus, or rockrose.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. aromatic resin that is burned as incense and used in perfume