am·ber·gris   Pronunciation Key  (mbr-grs, -grs)
n.
A waxy grayish substance formed in the intestines of sperm whales and found floating at sea or washed ashore. It is added to perfumes to slow down the rate of evaporation.
[Middle English, from Old French ambre gris : ambre, amber; see amber + gris, gray; see grisaille.]
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


ambergris

\Am"ber*gris\, n. [F. ambre gris, i. e., gray amber; F. gris gray, which is of German origin: cf. OS. gr[^i]s, G. greis, gray-haired. See Amber.] A substance of the consistence of wax, found floating in the Indian Ocean and other parts of the tropics, and also as a morbid secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which is believed to be in all cases its true origin. In color it is white, ash-gray, yellow, or black, and often variegated like marble. The floating masses are sometimes from sixty to two hundred and twenty-five pounds in weight. It is wholly volatilized as a white vapor at 212[deg] Fahrenheit, and is highly valued in perfumery. --Dana.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.


ambergris

n : waxy substance secreted by the sperm whale and found floating at sea or washed ashore; used in perfume
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University