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ozocerite

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o⋅zo⋅ce⋅rite

[oh-zoh-kuh-rahyt, -suh-rahyt, oh-zoh-seer-ahyt]
–noun
a waxlike mineral resin; mineral wax.
Also, o⋅zo⋅ke⋅rite [oh-zoh-kuh-rahyt, oh-zoh-keer-ahyt] .


Origin:
1830–40; < G Ozokerit < Gk ozo- ozo- + kēr(ós) wax + G -it -ite 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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o·zo·ce·rite   (ō'zō-sîr'īt')   
n.  A yellow-brown to black or green hydrocarbon wax, found in irregular veins in sandstones and used in making electrical insulation and polishes.

[Greek ozein, to smell + Greek kēros, wax + -ite1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

ozocerite

(from Greek ozokeros, "odoriferous wax"), naturally occurring, light yellow to dark brown mineral wax composed principally of solid paraffinic hydrocarbons (compounds chiefly of hydrogen and carbon atoms linked in chains). Ozokerite usually occurs as thin stringers and veins filling rock fractures in areas of mountain building. It is believed to have been deposited when the petroleum containing it percolated through the rock fissures; in Utah, U.S., this process is exposed in fissures cut by mine drifts. Large deposits occur in Galicia (in modern Poland), Romania, Utah, and elsewhere.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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