mastic

mastic

English

Mastic tears

Alternative forms

• mastich, mastiche, mastick

Etymology

From Middle English mastik, from Old French mastic, from Latin mastiche, from Ancient Greek μαστίχη (mastíkhē), from μαστιχάω (mastikháō, “I chew”) (note the chewing gum sense). Related to masticate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmæstɪk/
• Rhymes: -æstɪk

Noun

mastic (countable and uncountable, plural mastics)

1. An evergreen shrub or small tree, Pistacia lentiscus (mastic tree), native to the Mediterranean.
   • 1745, Richard Pococke, A Description of the East, and Some other Countries, Volume II, Book I, Chapter 1,

     The island of Scio is now called by the Greeks Kio [Χιο], the antient Greek name of it was Chios [Χιος]; it was first called Ætalia in very antient times, and also Mastic, on account of the great number of mastic trees that were in this island.

2. A hard, brittle, aromatic and transparent resin produced by this tree and used to make varnishes and chewing gum, and as a flavouring.
   • 1799, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, Voyage Performed by the Late Earl of Sandwich Round the Mediterranean in the Years 1738 and 1739, Written by Himself, pp. 317-318,

     The mastic, of which the people of Scio gather every year an incredible quantity, is a very rich gum, made use of in medicines, which distils from a shrub called, in Latin, Lentiscus.

   • 1830, Thomas Moore, Letters and Journals of Lord Byron: with Notices of his Life, New York: J. & J. Harper, Volume I, p. 402,

     Having taken upon me to order the repast, and knowing that Lord Byron, for the last two days, had done nothing towards sustenance, beyond eating a few biscuits and (to appease appetite) chewing mastic, I desired that we should have a good supply of, at least, two kinds of fish.

   • 1834, James Augustus St. John, Egypt and Mohammed Ali, or Travels in the Valley of the Nile, London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman, Volume I, Chapter 132, pp. 322-323,

     […] in many harems, the women are in the habit of burning mastic on a small chaffing-dish, and holding the mouth of the jars over the smoke; by which means they communicate to them a scent which perfumes the water for eight or ten days, at the expiration of which the operation must be repeated.

   • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 112:

     Aromatics were used, too, especially in necromancy, and an old recipe of that sort comprises Musk, Myrrh, Frankincense, Red Storax, Mastick, Olibanum, Saffron, Benzoin and Labdanum.

3. An alcoholic liquor flavoured with this resin.
   • 1913, Marjorie Bowen, A Knight of Spain, Part II, Chapter 6,

     He took a list from the desk and read aloud Fatima’s offerings:— […] four bottles of rare mastic from Scio.

4. A flexible, waterproof cement used as an adhesive, sealant or filler.
   • 1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Vintage International, 2001, Part One, Chapter 5,

     ‘They have a few holes here and there. A few. Tiny tiny.’ ‘We could fix those up easy. Mastic cement. Not expensive, boss.’

Derived terms

• black mastic (Terminalia eriostachya)
• false mastic (Sideroxylon foetidissimum)
• mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus)
• yellow mastic (Sideroxylon foetidissimum)

Translations

the shrub or tree Pistacia lentiscus

Albanian: shqind (sq) m, xinë (sq) f Arabic: ضَرْو‎ m (ḍarw) Hijazi Arabic: مستكة‎ f (mistika) Catalan: llentiscle m Dutch: mastiekboom (nl) m, mastaka Finnish: mastiksipistaasi (fi) French: arbre au mastic m, pistachier lentisque (fr) m Galician: laderno m, loderno m, aroeira f German: Mastix m, Wilde Pistazie f, Mastixstrauch m, Mastix-Pistazie f, Mastix-Baum m, Mastix-Strauch m, Mastixpistazienstrauch m Greek: μαστιχιά (el) f (mastichiá) Ancient: σχῖνος f (skhînos) Hebrew: אלת המסטיק‎ (he) (elat hamastik) Italian: lentisco m Latin: lentiscus Russian: мастиковое дерево (mastíkovoje d'ér'evo) n Spanish: mata (es) f, lentisco (es) m, mata charneca f Tagalog: almasiga (tl) Ukrainian: мастикове дерево n (mastykove derevo)

the tree's resin

Arabic: عِلْك‎ m (ʿilk), مُصْطَكَى‎ f (muṣṭakā), رَمَاص‎ m (ramāṣ) Hijazi Arabic: مستكة‎ (mistika) Catalan: màstic m Czech: masticha f Dutch: mastiek (nl), mastaka Finnish: mastiksi Galician: almécega f, elemí m German: Mastix m Greek: μαστίχα (el) f (mastícha) Ancient: μαστίχη f (mastíkhē) Hebrew: מסטיקה‎ (he) (mastika) Persian: مصطکی‎ (fa) (mastaki) Russian: масти́ка (ru) f (mastíka) Tagalog: almasiga (tl) Ukrainian: мастика f (mastyka)

the flexible, waterproof filler

Dutch: mastiek (nl) French: mastic (fr) German: Dichtmasse f, Versiegelung (de) f, Dichtstoff m, Gummimasse f Hebrew: מסטיקא‎ (he) (mastika) Irish: maisteog f Russian: масти́ка (ru) f (mastíka), зама́зка (ru) f (zamázka), шпаклёвка (ru) f (špakljóvka)

See also

• Mastichochoria

Further reading

• Mastic on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Amcits, Matics, Stimac, misact

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Middle English

Noun

mastic

1. Alternative form of mastik

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Romanian

Etymology

From French mastic.

Noun

mastic n (plural masticuri)

1. mastic

Declension

Declension of mastic

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) mastic	masticul	(niște) masticuri	masticurile
genitive/dative	(unui) mastic	masticului	(unor) masticuri	masticurilor
vocative	masticule		masticurilor