Cera
/ˈsɪərə/noun
A wax, especially one used in pharmaceutical or technical preparations.
Did you know?In antiquity, wax tablets were writing surfaces, so wax became closely associated with recording vows, contracts, curses, and magical formulas.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Latin
Latin
cēra
“Wax; especially beeswax used for writing tablets, coatings, candles, and molded figures”
Late Latin
Latin
cera
“Wax, including pharmaceutical or medicinal preparations”
Medieval Latin
Latin
cera
“Wax used in technical, ecclesiastical, and medical contexts”
17th–19th Century
English
cera
“A technical or pharmaceutical term for wax”
Modern English
English
cera
“Wax, chiefly in specialized pharmaceutical and scientific usage”