Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- the milky juice, nearly white when pure, of various Malaysian trees of the sapodilla family, especially Palaquium gutta.
- the tough, rubberlike gum made from this and used as a dental cement, in the manufacture of golf balls, for insulating electric wires, etc.
noun
- any of several tropical trees of the sapotaceous genera Palaquium and Payena, esp Palaquium gutta
- a whitish rubber substance derived from the coagulated milky latex of any of these trees: used in electrical insulation and dentistry
1845, from Malay getah percha, literally “the gum of percha,” the name of the tree; the form of the word influenced by Latin gutta “drop.” As the name of the tree itself, from 1860.
n.
- A rubbery substance from the latex of any of several tropical trees, used as a temporary filling material in dentistry and in the manufacture of orthopedic splints.