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copal

 
Dictionary: co·pal   ('pəl, -păl') pronunciation
n.
Any of several brittle aromatic yellow to red resins of recent or fossil origin, obtained from various tropical trees and used in certain varnishes.

[Spanish, from Nahuatl copalli, resin.]


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Architecture: copal
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Resin of natural origin used in varnishes to provide gloss and hardness.



[Ma]

Incense made from resin used extensively during religious ceremonies in Mesoamerica from Maya times through to the present day.

WordNet: copal
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a brittle aromatic resin used in varnishes


Wikipedia: Copal
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A copal with few termites

Copal is a type of resin produced from plant sap[1], often from members of the genus Copaifera. The term is particularly identified with the aromatic tree resins used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense and other purposes.[2] More generally, the term copal describes resinous substances in an intermediate stage of polymerization and hardening between more 'gummy' resins and amber.[3] The word copal is derived from the Nahuatl language word copalli, meaning "incense".[4]

To the pre-Columbian Maya and contemporary Maya peoples it is known in the various Mayan languages as pom (or a close variation thereof), although the word itself has been demonstrated to be a loanword to Mayan from Mixe-Zoquean languages.

It is sometimes likened to, or substituted for, amber and put in jewellery.

Copal is still used by a number of indigenous peoples of Mexico and Central America as an incense and during sweat lodge ceremonies[5]. It is available in different forms. The hard, amber-like yellow copal is a less expensive version. The white copal, a hard, milky, sticky substance, is a more expensive version of the same resin.

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Copal" Read more