brilliantine

American  

[bril-yuhn-teen] / ˈbrɪl yənˌtin /

noun

1. an oily preparation used to make the hair lustrous.

2. a dress fabric resembling alpaca.

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brilliantine British  

/ ˈbrɪljənˌtiːn /

noun

1. a perfumed oil used to make the hair smooth and shiny

2. a glossy fabric made of mohair and cotton

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Other Word Forms

• brilliantined adjective

Etymology

Origin of brilliantine

1870–75, < French brillantine. See brilliant, -ine ²

Example Sentences

I suppose it is a virtue that Merkin’s feisty, brilliantine writing makes much of what seems like little—it certainly means that the essays are adventures, veering in unexpected and profound directions.

From Slate • Sep. 11, 2014

One man, Diego Ortega, wears a layer of brilliantine so thick that his hair looks like a black patent-leather bathing cap.

From New York Times • Jul. 15, 2013

One Sunday morning about 1940 when the Carter family was getting ready for church, Jimmy, then a high school senior, tried to smear down three-year-old Billy's unruly blond hair with brilliantine.

From Time Magazine Archive

In Boston a do-it-yourselfer soaked his roof shingles in a preservative mixture of kerosene and 20 gallons of scented brilliantine, which he got from an aunt who was once in the cosmetics business.

From Time Magazine Archive

It was a brilliant dark vermilion, like a ripe orange, and it was plastered back with immense quantities of brilliantine in the same fashion as the Headmaster’s.

From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl