India rubber

/ˌɪndiə ˈrʌbər/

Other forms: India rubbers

India rubber is one name for the natural rubber that comes from the sap of certain trees. Rubber trees that grow in South America and India produce the majority of India rubber.

India rubber can also be called "natural rubber," "gum rubber," or "caoutchouc," its original name. This material was first brought to the West by 18th century explorers of the Indies, who loaned the word India to the gummy substance, which was eventually dubbed rubber because of its ability to rub out pencil marks on paper. India rubber was grown commercially on plantations in South Asia by the end of the 1800s.

Definitions of India rubber

1. noun

   an elastic material obtained from the latex sap of trees (especially trees of the genera Hevea and Ficus) that can be vulcanized and finished into a variety of products
   synonyms: caoutchouc, gum elastic, natural rubber, rubber

   types:

   foam rubber

   spongy rubber; made by introducing air bubbles before vulcanization and used for cushioning or upholstery

   crepe rubber

   crude natural rubber; used mainly for shoe soles

   cold rubber

   a rubber made at low temperatures (5 degrees Centigrade) which is tougher than conventional rubber and is often used in car tires

   ebonite, hard rubber, vulcanite

   a hard nonresilient rubber formed by vulcanizing natural rubber

   Para rubber

   a type of natural rubber obtained from tropical South American trees

   type of:

   latex

   a milky exudate from certain plants that coagulates on exposure to air