Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, wood turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially), turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. It is mainly used as a solvent, and as a source of material for organic syntheses.
Turpentine is composed of terpenes, primarily the monoterpenes alpha- and beta-pinene, with lesser amounts of carene, camphene, dipentene, and terpinolene.
The word turpentine derives (via French and Latin), from the Greek word τερεβινθίνη terebinthine, in turn the feminine form (to conform to the feminine gender of the Greek word, which means "resin") of an adjective (τερεβίνθινος) derived from the Greek noun (τερέβινθος), for the tree species terebinth. Mineral turpentine or other petroleum distillates are used to replace turpentine – although their chemistries are very different.
