Colophony

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Rosin; the residue left after the distillation of oil of turpentine from liquid resin, used in pharmaceutical preparations, soldering fluxes, and by violinists. uncountable, usually

    "This resin or turpentine is a very interesting and peculiar substance, or rather series of substances. It is valuable because tar, pitch, rosin, and colophony are obtained by distilling it."

  2. 2
    translucent brittle substance produced from pine oleoresin; used especially in varnishes and inks and on the bows of stringed instruments wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
gumplasticresinrosinrosin

Example

More examples

"This resin or turpentine is a very interesting and peculiar substance, or rather series of substances. It is valuable because tar, pitch, rosin, and colophony are obtained by distilling it."

Etymology

From Latin colophonia (“of Colophon”) resina (“resin”); named after the Ionic city of Colophon, which was known for producing hardened resin.

Related phrases

oil of turpentine

More for "colophony"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.