mastic
/ˈmastɪk
/noun
1 [mass noun] An aromatic gum or resin which exudes from the bark of a Mediterranean tree, used in making varnish and chewing gum and as a flavouring: incense made from sandalwood, eagle-wood, mastic and cloves...
- Acrylic and ketone resins are used in place of the traditional dammar, mastic, and copal resins for the manufacture of many oil painting media and picture varnishes.
- When the stems of the bushes are wounded, even slightly, mastic exudes as a clear sticky substance.
- Look for Greek or Turkish mastic, which usually comes from pine trees, in Middle Eastern or wholefood stores.
2 (also mastic tree) The bushy evergreen Mediterranean tree which yields mastic and has aromatic leaves and fruit, closely related to the pistachio.
- Pistacia lentiscus, family Anacardiaceae.
- In addition, herbs such as corydal, corydalis, mastic, myrrh, and bupleurum offer strong pain-relieving properties.
- In the desert there will remain some stones, a whole gigantic ruin slowly split and slaked by waters and wind, mastic trees, frost.
2.1Used in names of trees that are similar or related to the mastic tree, e.g. American mastic.
3 [mass noun] A putty-like waterproof filler and sealant used in building: run a bead of mastic along the gap [as modifier]: a mastic sealant [count noun]: use a mastic between the joints...
- You can also use silicone or mastic sealants to draught-proof doors and window frames and stop water leaking into wood, causing rot.
- Use mirror mastic, a strong waterproof adhesive that's available at large hardware stores and glass shops, to mount the mirror to the plywood.
- If you are using mastic cement as an adhesive, fill the joints with thin-set adhesive to avoid water damage.
Origin
Late Middle English: via Old French and Latin from Greek mastikhē (perhaps from mastikhan 'masticate').