Word.ws English Dictionary

camphire

/ˈkæmfaɪə(ɹ)/

camphire noun: camphor.

Noun

camphire (plural camphires)

  1. (obsolete) Camphor.
    • The Wild Valerian is mightily extolled by some for strengthning the Optick Nerves and restoring decay’d Sight tho’ the present Practice does not acknowledge it in any such Intentions; it does sometimes Wonders in Hysterical Affections, especially where those of the fætid Kind are, and where the...1725, [Noël] Chomel, “VALERIAN”, in R[ichard] Bradley, editor, Dictionaire Oeconomique: Or, The Family Dictionary. […], volume II (I–Z), London: […] D[aniel] Midwinter, […], →OCLC
    • Câfûr is the name of a fountain in paradise, so called from its resembling camphire (which the word signifies) in odour, and whiteness. Some take the word for an appellative, and think the wine of paradise will be mixed with camphire, because of its agreeable coolness and smell.1734, George Sale, The Koran, commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed, London: C. Ackers, Chapter 78, page 475
  2. (obsolete) The fragrant henna flower (or plant) (Lawsonia inermis, syn. Lawsonia alba)
    • A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Song of Solomon 4:12–14

Forms of camphire

pluralcamphires

Origin of camphire

Malapropism in the English Bible of the Hebrew כֹּפֶר / כּוֹפֶר (kōp̄er, “henna”) by confusion with camphor. The Hebrew is from Akkadian 𒇒𒌓𒀀 (kupru, “bitumen, pitch”) from Akkadian 𒅗𒉺𒊒 (kapāru, “to smear, to daub on”).

Questions about camphire

What does camphire mean?
Camphire means camphor.
What part of speech is camphire?
Camphire is a noun.
How do you pronounce camphire?
Camphire is pronounced /ˈkæmfaɪə(ɹ)/.
What is the plural of camphire?
The plural of camphire is camphires.

Words near camphire in the dictionary

  1. camphene
  2. camphenes
  3. campherene
  4. camphine
  5. camphines
  6. camphire
  7. camphires
  8. camphocarboxylate
  9. camphocarboxylates
  10. camphocarboxylic acid
  11. camphogen

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: camphire (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “camphire.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/camphire. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.