Emily Dickinson Lexicon

RES'IN, n. [s as z. Fr. resine; L. It. and Sp. resina; Ir. roisin; Gr. ῥητινη, probably from ῥεω, to flow.]

Resins are solid inflammable substances, which are insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol and essential oils. When cold they are more or less brittle and translucent, and of a color inclining to yellow. When pure they are nearly insipid and inodorous. They are non-conductors of electricity, and when excited by friction, their electricity is negative. They are heavier than water, and they melt by heat. They combine with the alkalies of the metals, performing the function of weak acids, and forming soaps. They are soluble in many of the acids, and convertible by some into other peculiar acids. They frequently exsude from trees in combination with essential oils, and in a liquid or semi-liquid state. They are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and are supposed to be formed by the oxygenation of the essential oils. There is a great number, and variety of the resins.