Word To Use Today: tacamahac.

 I can't claim that this word is a lot of use, but it's lovely to say:

tacamahac.

(You say it TACKamaHACK.)

(You can also spell it with a K stuck on the end if you like.)

Tacamahac is the scented sap you get from several types of American tree which can be used to make ointments and incense.

These are the flowers of one of those trees, Calophyllum inophyllum.

photo by Forest and Kim Starr, http://www.starrenvironmental.com/imageusepolicy/

That tree is planted to help prevent coastal erosion, and it is also the source for tamanu oil, which is useful for massage, as a rub-on medicine, for burning in lamps, as waterproofing, and in cosmetics.

I know that really this post should be about tamanu oil, rather than tacamahac, because people don't really use tacamahac much nowadays.

But it's just not half such fun to say.

Word To Use Today: tacamahac. This joyous word comes from the Nahuatl tecomahca. Nahuatl is a group of languages of Central Mexico which go right back to the seventh century and the Aztecs.