Word Study
copal
CIDE DICTIONARY
copal, [Sp., fr. Mexican copalli, a generic name of resins. Clavigero .].
A resinous substance flowing spontaneously from trees of Zanzibar, Madagascar, and South America (Trachylobium Hornemannianum , Trachylobium verrucosum , and Hymenæa Courbaril ), and dug from earth where forests have stood in Africa; -- used chiefly in making varnishes. Ure. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
copal, n. a resin from any of various tropical trees, used for varnish.
Etymology
Sp. f. Aztec copalli incense
ROGET THESAURUS
copal
Resin
N resin, rosin, gum, lac, sealing wax, amber, ambergris, bitumen, pitch, tar, asphalt, asphaltum, camphor, varnish, copal, mastic, magilp, lacquer, japan, artificial resin, polymer, ion-exchange resin, cation-exchange resin, anion exchange resin, water softener, Amberlite, Dowex, Diaion, resiny, resinous, bituminous, pitchy, tarry, asphaltic, asphaltite.For further exploring for "copal" in Webster Dictionary Online