castoreum
2 synonyms for castoreum, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A bitter substance from glands in adult beavers, which they use to mark their territory and which also goes into some perfumes.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun
A bitter substance from glands in adult beavers, which they use to mark their territory and which also goes into some perfumes.
“While the role of castoreum as a means of territorial advertisement has been extensively investigated and supported, the possibility of coding for sex information has not yet been excluded.”
Etymology
Castoreum came from Latin castoreum, which in turn came from Ancient Greek καστόριον (kastórion).
Full origin of castoreum →