Ambergris

(grees), n. [Fr. ambre gris, i. e., gray amber; Fr. gris, gray. 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 (Physetor macrocephalus), which is believed in all cases to be 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 2.2° Fahrenheit, and is highly valued in perfumery. Dana.