toxaphene

[ tok-suh-feen ]

noun

, Chemistry.

1. an amber, waxy, water-insoluble solid, whose principal constituent is chlorinated camphene, used as an insecticide and as a rodenticide.

toxaphene

/ ˈtɒksəˌfiːn /

noun

1. an amber waxy solid with a pleasant pine odour, consisting of chlorinated terpenes, esp chlorinated camphene: used as an insecticide

Word History and Origins

Origin of toxaphene¹

First recorded in 1945–50; tox(o)- + (c)a(m)phene

Example Sentences

Ten years after the application of toxaphene to sandy soil, enough remains to kill termites.

From The New Yorker

Upon analysis, they were found to contain insecticide residues identified as the chlorinated hydrocarbons toxaphene, DDD, and DDE.

From The New Yorker

While the list of toxins found in the river decades later is still shocking - including PCB, dioxin and pesticides like DDT, dieldrin and toxaphene - the river has come back to life.

From Washington Times

Water from a stream draining sprayed cotton fields remained lethal to fishes even after it had passed through a purifying plant, and in fifteen streams tributary to the Tennessee River in Alabama the runoff from fields treated with toxaphene, a chlorinated hydrocarbon, killed all the fish inhabiting the streams.

From Literature

Upon analysis, they were found to contain insecticide residues identified as toxaphene, DDD, and DDE.

From Literature