A large tropical tree of Southeast Asia (Calophyllum inophyllum) valued for its wood and oil.
From Malay bintangor, the local name for this tree. The term passed directly into English through trade contact with Malaysia and the region.
Bintangor wood is so dense and beautiful that it rivals teak, but it's less famous because colonizers focused more on teak—this shows how language and economic history are intertwined in which trees became world-famous.
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