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essential oil
–noun
| any of a class of volatile oils obtained from plants, possessing the odor and other characteristic properties of the plant, used chiefly in the manufacture of perfumes, flavors, and pharmaceuticals. |
[Origin: 1665–75
]
] | Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Essential oil
To learn more about Essential oil visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| essential oil
n. A volatile oil, usually having the characteristic odor or flavor of the plant from which it is obtained, used to make perfumes and flavorings. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| essential oil | |
noun | |
| an oil having the odor or flavor of the plant from which it comes; used in perfume and flavorings |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
essential oil
 Audio Help (ĭ-sěn'shəl) Pronunciation Key
Any of various volatile liquids, such as rose oil or lavender oil, that have a characteristic odor and are produced by plants. Essential oils are composed primarily of terpenes and of lesser quantities of alcohols, aldehydes, esters, phenols, and other compounds that impart particular odors or flavors. They are used to make perfumes, soaps, flavorings, and other products. |
| The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
essential oil n.
A volatile oil, usually having the characteristic odor or flavor of the plant from which it is obtained, used to make perfumes and flavorings.
| The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. |
Main Entry: essential oil
Function: noun
: any of a large class of volatile odoriferous oils of vegetable origin that give plants their characteristic odors and oftenother properties, that are obtained from various parts of the plants (as flowers, leaves, or bark) by steam distillation, expression, or extraction, that are usually mixtures of compounds (as aldehydesor esters), and that are used often in the form of essences in perfumes, flavorings, and pharmaceutical preparations called also ethereal oil, volatile oil; —compare
| Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
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