stacte

Etymology

From Latin stactē, from Ancient Greek στακτή (staktḗ, “oil of myrrh”) from στακτός (staktós, “oozing out in drops”).

Why this word is great

STACTE — [Noun] A sweet spice used in Biblical incense, likely an oil or resin derived from myrrh, cinnamon, or storax. From Latin stactē, from Ancient Greek στακτή (staktḗ, "oil of myrrh"), from στακτός (staktós, "oozing out in drops"), from στάζω (stázō, "to drip"). Unlike "myrrh" (which names a specific tree’s hardened tears) or "storax" (a resin bound to a single species), stacte is elusive—a golden ambiguity, a sacred alchemy of extraction. It is the glistening bead trembling at the edge of a cut branch, the smoke coiling upward from temple censers, the unnamed sweetness lingering at the border of memory and myth. To name it is to chase the scent of something already dissolved in air.

noun

One of the sweet spices used by the Jews in Biblical times for preparing incense; it is thought to have been an oil or other form of myrrh or cinnamon, or a kind of storax.“And our Lord ſaid to Moyſes: Take vnto thee ſpices, ſtactee, and onycha, galbanum of ſwete ſauour, and the cleareſt frankincenſe, al shal be of equal weight:”