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wood tar

noun

  1. a dark viscid product obtained from wood by distillation or by slow burning without flame, used in its natural state to preserve timber, rope, etc., or subjected to further distillation to yield creosote, oils, and a final residuum, wood pitch.


wood tar

noun

  1. any tar produced by the destructive distillation of wood: used in producing tarred cord and rope and formerly in medicine as disinfectants and antiseptics
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of wood tar1

First recorded in 1855–60
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Example Sentences

What remains -- two types of liquids called wood tar and wood vinegar -- are removed to sealed vessels and are sold as eco-friendly pesticides and soil conditioners.

While the different wood tars contain numerous aromatic compounds, such as phenols, phenyl oxides, terpenes and organic acids, these are present in such a slight proportion so as to render their effectiveness practically useless.

Thickened surfaces are best treated with wood tar, in the form of oil of cade ointment, or the "pix liquida" of the drug shops mixed with twice its amount of olive oil.

Bishop Berkeley, after having proved that all matter was in your mind, wrote a book to prove that wood tar would cure all diseases.

Resin, sulphur, wood tar and other substances were also used as additions; each manufacturer kept his method secret, however, and simply pointed out by high sounding title in what manner his paper was composed.

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