A fragrant resin obtained from trees of the genus Styrax, used in perfumes, incense, and traditional medicine. It can also refer to a white crystalline compound derived from this resin.
From French benjoin, which came from Arabic لُبَان جَاوِي (lubān jāwī), meaning 'frankincense of Java'. The Arabic phrase was corrupted through various European languages, with the 'lubān' (frankincense) part being dropped and 'jāwī' (of Java) being transformed into 'benzoin'. The word entered English in the 16th century through French, during the period of increased trade with Southeast Asia.
The word 'benzoin' is actually a linguistic fossil of medieval trade routes - it started as Arabic for 'Javanese frankincense' but got so mangled through European trading languages that it's completely unrecognizable! This resin was so valuable that it spawned the modern chemical term 'benzene', making benzoin the ancestor of an entire family of chemical names.
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