kauri resin

noun

1. a hard resin obtained from the bark of the kauri or found, sometimes in masses of as much as 100 pounds (45 kilograms), in the soil where the tree has grown: used chiefly in making varnish.

Word History and Origins

Origin of kauri resin¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

But, nevertheless, the body of one soldier was burned that night, for as the people were mending the fence by torchlight there was a dead soldier lying near, and they put a torch of kauri resin on the body to light their work, which burnt the body very much, and caused the report to be spread afterwards, when the body was found by the soldiers, that the man had been tortured; but this was not true, for the man was dead before the fire was thrown on the body.

From Project Gutenberg