mastic
Part of speech: noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Middle English mastik, from Old French mastic, from Latin mastiche, from Ancient Greek μαστίχη (mastíkhē), from μαστιχάω (mastikháō, “to chew”) (note the chewing gum sense). Related to masticate. The broad sense for cements came via extension from predecessor cements made with the tree's resin. Doublet of mastika.
Inflected forms:
form: mastics
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: mastich
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: mastiche
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: mastick
pos: noun
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: An evergreen shrub or small tree, Pistacia lentiscus (mastic tree), native to the Mediterranean.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: The island of Scio is now called by the Greeks Kio [Χιο], the antient Greek name of it was Chios [Χιος]; it was first called Ætalia in very antient times, and also Mastic, on account of the great number of mastic trees that were in this island.
gloss: A hard, brittle, aromatic and transparent resin produced by this tree and used to make varnishes and chewing gum, and as a flavouring.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: The mastic, of which the people of Scio gather every year an incredible quantity, is a very rich gum, made use of in medicines, which distils from a shrub called, in Latin, Lentiscus.
Having taken upon me to order the repast, and knowing that Lord Byron, for the last two days, had done nothing towards sustenance, beyond eating a few biscuits and (to appease appetite) chewing mastic, I desired that we should have a good supply of, at least, two kinds of fish.
1834, James Augustus St. John, Egypt and Mohammed Ali, or Travels in the Valley of the Nile, London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman, Volume I, Chapter 132, pp. 322-323,
[…] in many harems, the women are in the habit of burning mastic on a small chaffing-dish, and holding the mouth of the jars over the smoke; by which means they communicate to them a scent which perfumes the water for eight or ten days, at the expiration of which the operation must be repeated.
Aromatics were used, too, especially in necromancy, and an old recipe of that sort comprises Musk, Myrrh, Frankincense, Red Storax, Mastick, Olibanum, Saffron, Benzoin and Labdanum.
gloss: An alcoholic liquor flavoured with this resin.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: He took a list from the desk and read aloud Fatima’s offerings:— […] four bottles of rare mastic from Scio.
gloss: Any of various cements, usually flexible and waterproof, used as an adhesive, sealant, caulk, or filler.
pos: noun
tags: Commonwealth
English
countable
especially
uncountable
examples: ‘They have a few holes here and there. A few. Tiny tiny.’ ‘We could fix those up easy. Mastic cement. Not expensive, boss.’
Related words: Mastichochoria
Derived words: black mastic
false mastic
masticin
mastic tree
yellow mastic
Translations:
lang: Arabic
word: عِلْك
roman: ʕilk
lang: Arabic
word: مُصْطَكَى
roman: muṣṭakā
lang: Arabic
word: رَمَاص
roman: ramāṣ
lang: Arabic
word: مستكة
roman: mistika
lang: Azerbaijani
word: saqqız
lang: Catalan
word: màstic
lang: Czech
word: masticha
lang: Dutch
word: mastiek
lang: Dutch
word: mastaka
lang: Finnish
word: mastiksi
lang: Galician
word: almécega
lang: Galician
word: elemí
lang: German
word: Mastix
lang: Greek
word: μαστίχα
roman: mastícha
lang: Ancient Greek
word: μαστίχη
roman: mastíkhē
lang: Hebrew
word: מסטיקה
roman: mastika
lang: Persian
word: مصطکی
roman: mastaki
lang: Polish
word: mastyks
lang: Russian
word: масти́ка
roman: mastíka
lang: Tagalog
word: almasiga
lang: Turkish
word: sakız
lang: Ottoman Turkish
word: ساقز
roman: sakız
lang: Ukrainian
word: мастика
roman: mastyka