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Amber
This fossilised vegetable resin is, according to legend, a
concretion of birds' tears. The birds were the sisters of Meleager, who
never ceased weeping for the death of their brother. —Ovid:
Metamorphoses, viii. line 270, etc.
Around thee shall glisten the loveliest amber
That ever the sorrowing sea-bird hath wept.
T. Moore: Fire Worshippers.
Amber,
a repository. So called because insects and small leaves are
preserved in amber.
“You may be disposed to preserve it in your amber.” Notes and
Querries. —W. Dowe. Pretty! in amber, to observe the forms
Of hairs, or straws, or dirt, or grubs, or worms,
The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare,
But wonder how the devil they got there.
Pope: Ep. to Arbuthnot
, 169–72.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Amber from Infoplease:
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