kauri

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun resin of the kauri trees of New Zealand; found usually as a fossil; also collected for making varnishes and linoleum
  2. noun tall timber tree of New Zealand having white straight-grained wood
  3. noun white close-grained wood of a tree of the genus Agathis especially Agathis australis

Etymology

Borrowed from Māori kauri from Proto-Polynesian *kauquli, from *kau (“tree”) + *quli (“black”), originally referring to Samoan ebony ("Diospyros samoensis").

In classic literature

Synonyms

kauri copal, kauri resin, kauri gum

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