A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Colophonium

by George Grove

COLOPHONIUM, the German term for the rosin used for fiddle bows, from κολοφωνία, so called because the best rosin came from Colophon, in Asia Minor, the same place which gave its name to the imprints of early books, and has thus left a double mark on modern times. In French, Colophane is the term used.

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