ceraceous

[ suh-rey-shuhs ]

adjective

1. waxlike; waxy:

   a ceraceous surface.

ceraceous

/ sɪˈreɪʃəs /

adjective

1. waxlike or waxy

Word History and Origins

Origin of ceraceous¹

1760–70; < Latin cēr ( a ) wax (compare Greek kērós wax) + -aceous

Word History and Origins

Origin of ceraceous¹

C18: from Latin cēra wax

Example Sentences

With regard to another species of insect, Dr Macgowan states, that the insect-wax of China, of which 400,000 pounds are produced annually, is not, as has long been believed, a 'saliva or excrement,' but 'that the insect undergoes what may be styled a ceraceous degeneration, its whole body being permeated by the peculiar produce in the same manner as the Coccus cacti is by carmine.'

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• lustrous