The Collaborative International Dictionary
bdellium \bdel"lium\, n. [L., fr. Gr. bde`llion; cf. Heb. b'dolakh bdellium (in sense 1).]
An unidentified substance mentioned in the Bible (
--Gen. ii. 12, and
--Num. xi. 7), variously taken to be a gum, a precious stone, or pearls, or perhaps a kind of amber found in Arabia.-
A gum resin of reddish brown color, brought from India, Persia, and Africa.
Note: Indian bdellium or false myrrh is an exudation from Balsamodendron Roxburghii. Other kinds are known as African bdellium, Sicilian bdellium, etc. [1913 Webster] ||
Usage examples of "false myrrh".
Adulterations are not easily detected in the powder, so that it is better purchased in mass, when small stones, senegal gum, chestnuts, pieces of bdellium, or of a brownish resin called 'false myrrh,' may be sorted out with little difficulty.