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Webster 1913 Edition


Caoutchouc

Caout′chouc

,
Noun.
[F.
caoutchouc
, from the South American name.]
A tenacious, elastic, gummy substance obtained from the milky sap of several plants of tropical South America (esp. the euphorbiaceous tree
Siphonia elastica
or
Hevea caoutchouc
), Asia, and Africa. Being impermeable to liquids and gases, and not readly affected by exposure to air, acids, and alkalies, it is used, especially when vulcanized, for many purposes in the arts and in manufactures. Also called
India rubber
(because it was first brought from India, and was formerly used chiefly for erasing pencil marks) and
gum elastic
. See
Vulcanization
.
Mineral caoutchouc
.
See under
Mineral
.

Definition 2024


caoutchouc

caoutchouc

English

Alternative forms

Noun

caoutchouc (countable and uncountable, plural caoutchoucs)

  1. latex; natural rubber

Translations

References

  • caoutchouc in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ka.ut.ʃu/

Etymology

From Quechua kawchu.

Noun

caoutchouc m (plural caoutchoucs)

  1. rubber (natural and synthetic)

Derived terms