Indian rubbern.
/ˌɪndɪən ˈrʌbə/, U.S. /ˌɪndiən ˈrəbər/ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > effacement, obliteration > [noun] > device for erasing > rubber
rubber1779
Indian rubber?1780
India rubber1784
ink-eraser1881
bungee1928
?1780 C. Bowles All Draughtsmen's Assistant 3 An Indian Rubber.
2. = India rubber n. 1. Now chiefly historical.
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society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > rubber > [noun]
caoutchouc1775
rubber1776
Indian rubber1783
gum elastic1803
India rubber1812
natural rubber1862
latex1900
1783 W. Curtis Catal. Brit. Plants 49/2 Indian Rubber, or Glue.
1790 T. Jefferson Memorandum Bks. 25 May (1997) I. 757 P[ai]d. for..Indian rubber 2/.
1799 R. Hooper Med. Dict. (at cited word) The substance known by the names Indian rubber, Elastic gum, Cayenne resin, Cautchuc..is prepared from the juice of the Siphonia elastica.
1803 W. Henry in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 93 31 It is attached to the copper pipe, by a tube of Indian rubber.
1817 T. S. Raffles Hist. Java (1830) I. 48 The elastic gum, commonly called Indian-rubber.
1850 J. B. Boussingault Rural Econ. ii. 143 It is a solution of Indian rubber in rectified coal-tar oil or naphtha, which is now used extensively for making stuffs water-proof.
1879 Manufacturer & Builder Feb. 35/2 The pedomotor consists of four tough, light wooden wheels, supplied with an outer rim of tough Indian rubber.
1949 Mod. Lang. Notes 64 546 The English say rubber (not Indian-rubber) as we do.
1987 Arch. Amer. Art Jrnl. 27 18/2 Rudolf Bunner did a clever, light-hearted sketch featuring an Indian Rubber House in the cyclone areas.
Compounds
C1.
a. With the sense ‘made of India rubber’. Now rare.
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1833 Monthly Rev. Sept. 88 The Indian rubber aprons for wet spinning.
1867 G. W. Harris Sut Lovingood 124 Did yu ever try hit, wif a purty gal sot on steel springs wif injun rubber heels?
1880 Newport (Rhode Island) Daily News 20 Jan. An indian rubber hot water bag which she possesses is the envy and admiration of the entire colony.
1892 Proc. Old Bailey 7 Mar. 535 There is on it ‘E. Green’, stamped by an Indian-rubber stamp, I believe.
1907 Indian Med. Gaz. Oct. 395/2 It was in texture almost exactly like one of the Indian rubber sponges which are so common nowadays.
1998 A. Linzer Ghost Dancing (1999) 192 The Indian Rubber Boots. Harold and I found them once after Mother had died.
b. Parasynthetic. Now rare.
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1891 H. J. Burlingame Around World with Magician & Juggler xiii. 110 To Tom O'Kitchi, the Indian Rubber Boned Boy, was assigned the second Part of the Programme.
C2.
Indian rubber tree n. the tree Ficus elastica, native to India and South-East Asia, which is widely grown as an ornamental tree in warm countries and as a house plant in cooler countries (see rubber plant n.).This tree is not the usual source of natural rubber; cf. India rubber tree at India rubber n. Compounds 1a.In quot. 1806: (probably) the Para rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis.
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1806 B. M'Mahon Amer. Gardener's Cal. (Catalogue) 636 Siphonia elastica. Indian-Rubber Tree.]
1826 T. Jefferson Garden Bk. (1999) 621 The trees I should propose would be exotics of distinguished usefulness..such as..the Catachu or Indian rubber tree of Napul..Teak tree, or Indian oak of Burman [etc.].
1951 Amer. Midland Naturalist 45 130 Ficus elastica... Common names: Rubber Plant, India or Indian Rubber Tree, Caout-chouc Tree, Snake Tree, Rubber Fig, Elastic Gum, Berlin Weed.
2000 Internat. Jrnl. Plant Sci. 161 435 Purified rubber particles from Hevea brasiliensis (Brazilian rubber tree), Parthenium argentatum (guayule), Ficus elastica (Indian rubber tree), and Euphorbia lactiflua were examined and compared.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.?1780