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an·ti·ma·cas·sar

(ăn′tĭ-mə-kăsər)

A protective and often decorative covering for the back or arms of a chair or sofa.

[ANTI- + Macassar (oil), a kind of perfumed hair oil popular in the 1800s (after MAKASSAR, from which oil from the seeds of the tree Schleichera oleosa, used to make fine hair oils, was exported).]

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antimacassar

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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