Dictionary entry

Galban

Webster's Dictionary 1913

{ Gal″ban, Gal″ba‐num (?), } n. [L. galbanum, Gr. �, prob. from Heb. klekb'n�h: cf. F. galbanum.] A gum resin exuding from the stems of certain Asiatic umbelliferous plants, mostly species of Ferula. The Bubon Galbanum of South Africa furnishes an inferior kind of galbanum. It has an acrid, bitter taste, a strong, unpleasant smell, and is used for medical purposes, also in the arts, as in the manufacture of varnish.