spermaceti
noun
sper·ma·ce·ti ˌspər-mə-ˈsē-tē 
-ˈse-
: a waxy solid obtained from the oil of cetaceans and especially from a closed cavity in the heads of sperm whales and used especially formerly in ointments, cosmetics, and candles
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web So were high-quality spermaceti candles, which slavers would trade for people in West Africa and the Caribbean. 
Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 22 Jan. 2021 As in most parts of the world, the whales in the Gulf were hunted extensively for its spermaceti, a waxy substance contained in the whale’s massive head that was used to make candles or oil products. Dennis Pillion | Dpillion@al.com, al, 28 Nov. 2020 Sperm whales were hunted for the waxlike spermaceti found in their heads, which was used as a lubricant in looms, trains, and guns, and, most significant, as a raw material in fine candles. Amia Srinivasan, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2020 The Soviet military needed spermaceti, because Western embargoes cut off its access to synthetic substitutes. Amia Srinivasan, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2020 General Motors used spermaceti in its transmission fluid until 1973. Amia Srinivasan, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2020 The family of Walden author Henry David Thoreau, for instance, mixed graphite with bayberry wax or spermaceti, a wax from sperm whales commonly used to make candles at the time. Jonathan Schifman, Popular Mechanics, 16 Aug. 2016 See More
Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 22 Jan. 2021 As in most parts of the world, the whales in the Gulf were hunted extensively for its spermaceti, a waxy substance contained in the whale’s massive head that was used to make candles or oil products. Dennis Pillion | Dpillion@al.com, al, 28 Nov. 2020 Sperm whales were hunted for the waxlike spermaceti found in their heads, which was used as a lubricant in looms, trains, and guns, and, most significant, as a raw material in fine candles. Amia Srinivasan, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2020 The Soviet military needed spermaceti, because Western embargoes cut off its access to synthetic substitutes. Amia Srinivasan, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2020 General Motors used spermaceti in its transmission fluid until 1973. Amia Srinivasan, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2020 The family of Walden author Henry David Thoreau, for instance, mixed graphite with bayberry wax or spermaceti, a wax from sperm whales commonly used to make candles at the time. Jonathan Schifman, Popular Mechanics, 16 Aug. 2016 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English sperma cete, from Medieval Latin sperma ceti whale sperm
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
spermaceti
noun
sper·ma·ce·ti ˌspər-mə-ˈsēt-ē -ˈset-
-ˈset- : a waxy solid obtained from the oil of cetaceans and especially sperm whales and used especially formerly in pharmacology as a constituent of ointments