Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BDEL'LIUM, n. [del'yum; L.; Gr. βδελλιον; Syr. Ch. and Heb. בדלח. Bochart and Parkhurst translate it, pearl. Gen. ii. But it is doubtful whether the bdellium of the Scripture is that now used.]

A gummy resinous juice, produced by a tree in the East Indies, of which we have no satisfactory account. It is brought from the East Indies and from Arabia, in pieces of different sizes and figures, externally of a dark reddish brown, internally clear and not unlike to glue. To the taste is slightly bitterish and pungent; its odor is agreeable. In the mouth, it becomes soft and sticks to the teeth; on a red hot iron, it readily catches flame and burns with a crackling noise. It is used as a perfume and a medicine, being a weak deobstruent. – Encyc.