The Collaborative International Dictionary
Wax \Wax\, n. [AS. weax; akin to OFries. wax, D. was, G. wachs, OHG. wahs, Icel. & Sw. vax, Dan. vox, Lith. vaszkas, Russ. vosk'.]
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A fatty, solid substance, produced by bees, and employed by them in the construction of their comb; -- usually called beeswax. It is first excreted, from a row of pouches along their sides, in the form of scales, which, being masticated and mixed with saliva, become whitened and tenacious. Its natural color is pale or dull yellow.
Note: Beeswax consists essentially of cerotic acid (constituting the more soluble part) and of myricyl palmitate (constituting the less soluble part).
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Hence, any substance resembling beeswax in consistency or appearance. Specifically:
(Physiol.) Cerumen, or earwax. See Cerumen.
A waxlike composition used for uniting surfaces, for excluding air, and for other purposes; as, sealing wax, grafting wax, etching wax, etc.
A waxlike composition used by shoemakers for rubbing their thread.
(Zo["o]l.) A substance similar to beeswax, secreted by several species of scale insects, as the Chinese wax. See Wax insect, below.
(Bot.) A waxlike product secreted by certain plants. See Vegetable wax, under Vegetable.
(Min.) A substance, somewhat resembling wax, found in connection with certain deposits of rock salt and coal; -- called also mineral wax, and ozocerite.
Thick sirup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple, and then cooling. [Local U. S.]
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any of numerous substances or mixtures composed predominantly of the longer-chain saturated hydrocarbons such as the paraffins, which are solid at room teperature, or their alcohol, carboxylic acid, or ester derivatives. Japanese wax, a waxlike substance made in Japan from the berries of certain species of Rhus, esp. Rhus succedanea. Mineral wax. (Min.) See Wax, 2 (f), above. Wax cloth. See Waxed cloth, under Waxed. Wax end. See Waxed end, under Waxed. Wax flower, a flower made of, or resembling, wax. Wax insect (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of scale insects belonging to the family Coccid[ae], which secrete from their bodies a waxlike substance, especially the Chinese wax insect ( Coccus Sinensis) from which a large amount of the commercial Chinese wax is obtained. Called also pela. Wax light, a candle or taper of wax. Wax moth (Zo["o]l.), a pyralid moth ( Galleria cereana) whose larv[ae] feed upon honeycomb, and construct silken galleries among the fragments. The moth has dusky gray wings streaked with brown near the outer edge. The larva is yellowish white with brownish dots. Called also bee moth. Wax myrtle. (Bot.) See Bayberry. Wax painting, a kind of painting practiced by the ancients, under the name of encaustic. The pigments were ground with wax, and diluted. After being applied, the wax was melted with hot irons and the color thus fixed. Wax palm. (Bot.)
A species of palm ( Ceroxylon Andicola) native of the Andes, the stem of which is covered with a secretion, consisting of two thirds resin and one third wax, which, when melted with a third of fat, makes excellent candles.
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A Brazilian tree ( Copernicia cerifera) the young leaves of which are covered with a useful waxy secretion. Wax paper, paper prepared with a coating of white wax and other ingredients. Wax plant (Bot.), a name given to several plants, as:
The Indian pipe (see under Indian).
The Hoya carnosa, a climbing plant with polished, fleshy leaves.
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Certain species of Begonia with similar foliage. Wax tree (Bot.)
A tree or shrub ( Ligustrum lucidum) of China, on which certain insects make a thick deposit of a substance resembling white wax.
A kind of sumac ( Rhus succedanea) of Japan, the berries of which yield a sort of wax.
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A rubiaceous tree ( El[ae]agia utilis) of New Grenada, called by the inhabitants ``arbol del cera.''
Wax yellow, a dull yellow, resembling the natural color of beeswax.
WordNet
n. paper that has been waterproofed by treatment with wax of paraffin
Wikipedia
Wax paper (also waxed paper or paraffin paper) is paper that has been made moisture-proof through the application of wax.
The practice of oiling parchment or paper in order to make it semi-translucent or moisture-proof goes back at least to the middle ages. Paper impregnated or coated with purified beeswax was widely used throughout the 19th century to retain or exclude moisture, or to wrap odorous products. Gustave Le Gray introduced the use of waxed paper for photographic negatives in 1851. Natural wax was largely replaced for the making of wax paper (or paraffine paper) after Herman Frasch developed ways of purifying paraffin and coating paper with it in 1876. Wax paper is commonly used in cooking for its non-stick properties, and wrapping food for storage, such as cookies, as it keeps water out or in. It is also used in arts and crafts.
Usage examples of "wax paper".
Even in the rice puddings Tessie made, covering each little bowl with wax paper before putting it away in the fridge—.
Rose stood the flashlight on end in the center of the vaulted cavern and handed them ham sandwiches wrapped in wax paper.
He thought of it and alchemised the want into a focus, and when he ploughed forward again he clenched his eyes and teeth and felt the hankering coalesce in two blistering nodes where the horns met his forehead, and he pushed again and felt something catch, a sensual rupture like splitting taut wax paper.
Her skin had gone all the color of wax paper, and you could see the tracery of veins now, and dark shadows of bones and organs beneath the fading flesh.
The door opened, and I saw three street Weres across the way, yawning as they leaned against their little tricked-out car with wax paper cups of coffee in their grips.
She used to thumbtack it to her drawing board and trace it on this funny stuff that might have been very thin flour sacking or maybe wax paper.
Glancing over them, Nora saw stuffed animals wrapped in wax paper and twine, dubious-looking fossils, a double-headed pig floating in a glass jeroboam, a dried anaconda curled into a giant five-foot knot, a stuffed chicken with six legs and four wings, and a bizarre box made out of an elephant’.