English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

oak +‎ bark

Noun edit

oakbark (uncountable)

  1. The bark of the oak tree, often specifically as a source of tannic acid; tan.
    • 1894, Charles Romley Alder Wright, chapter XI, in Animal and Vegetable Fixed Oils, Fats, Butters, and Waxes, page 263:
      Some kinds of fish oils are similarly improved by vigorous agitation with oakbark infusion or other liquors containing tannin, conveniently effected by blowing a rapid current of steam through the whole: []
    • 1906, Ferdinand Frühwald, Reference Handbook of the Diseases of Children for Students and Physicians, page 424:
      From 1 to 2 kg. (2-4 pounds) of oakbark are boiled in a few liters (quarts) of water and allowed to digest for about an hour, after which the mixture is filtered and the filtrate added to the bath.
    • 2005, Paul Stewart, Chris Riddell, The Edge Chronicles: Vox, page 53:
      Rook [] went, to the fireplace, where once huge logs would have been burned. Felix [] unfastened one of the leather pouches attached to his belt and was setting out its contents on the hearth. There was a piece of flint, a short length of iron, oakbark dust and a ball of tinderwool.
    • 2008, Patricia J. Fanning, Through an uncommon lens: the life and photography of F. Holland Day, →ISBN, pages 18–19:
      One resident recalled that Norwood had "a musky, vinegary, railroady smell. It was a mixture of the smells of raw sheepskins and oakbark acid [] and coal smoke, and it was a characteristic of the town."