Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BEN-ZOIN', or BEN'JA-MIN, n.

Gum benjamin; a concrete resinous juice flowing from the Styrax Benzoin, a tree of Sumatra, &c. It is properly a balsam, as it yields benzoic acid. It flows from incisions made in the stem or branches. It is solid and brittle, sometimes in yellowish white tears; joined together by a brown substance, and sometimes of a uniform brown substance like resin. It has little taste, but its smell, especially when rubbed or heated, is extremely fragrant and agreeable. It is chiefly used in cosmetics and perfumes. – Encyc. Thomson.