gamboge

noun

gam·​boge gam-ˈbōj  -ˈbüzh 

1

: an orange to brown gum resin from southeast Asian trees (genus Garcinia) of the Saint-John's-wort family that is used as a yellow pigment and cathartic

2

: a strong yellow

Examples of gamboge in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a palette of chartreuse, ocher, cinnamon and gamboge, Ito overlaid uncommon shapes, such as a rectangle rounded and pinched at the top like a loaf of Wonder Bread, into compositions of preternatural calm. —Jason Farago, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2018

Word History

Etymology

earlier cambuge, gum-booge, latinized as cambogium, cambugium, perhaps borrowed from Portuguese Camboja cambodia, associated with the substance

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

gamboge

noun

gam·​boge gam-ˈbōj  -ˈbüzh 

: an orange to brown gum resin from southeast Asian trees (genus Garcinia of the family Guttiferae) that is used as a yellow pigment and cathartic

called also cambogia