Emily Dickinson Lexicon

WAX, n. [Sax. wæx, wex; G. wachs; D. wasch; Sw. vax; Russ. vaksa; L. viscus, viscum.]

1. A thick, viscid, tenacious substance, excreted by bees, from their bodies, and employed in the construction of their cells; usually called bees' wax. Its native color is yellow, but it is bleached for candles, &c.
2. A thick tenacious substance excreted in the ear.
3. A substance secreted by certain plants, forming a silvery powder on the leaves and fruit, as in the wax-palm and wax-myrtle. – Cyc.
4. A substance found on the binder legs of bees, which is supposed to be their food.
5. A substance used in sealing letters; called sealing-wax, or Spanish wax. This is a composition of lac and resin, colored with some pigment. – Cyc.
6. A thick substance used by shoemakers for rubbing their thread.