ichor
UK /ˈaɪkɔː/ · US /ˈaɪkɔɹ/ noun
Forms ichors
- noun (Greek mythology) The liquid said to flow in place of blood in the veins of the gods.
- noun (chiefly poetic) The blood of human beings or animals; also (obsolete) the clear, fluid portion of blood; blood plasma, plasma.
- noun (chiefly poetic, figuratively) A blood-like fluid.
- noun (geology, archaic) A fluid believed to seep out from magma and cause rock to turn into granite.
- noun (pathology, obsolete) A fetid, watery discharge from a sore; pus.
Synonyms
Etymology
Sense 1 (“liquid said to flow in place of blood in the veins of the gods”) is borrowed from Medieval Latin ichor, from Ancient Greek ῑ̓χώρ (īkhṓr, “fluid running through the veins of gods, ichor; watery part of blood, lymph, serum; watery part of milk, whey; gravy; pus; naphtha”); further etymology unknown, probably from Pre-Greek.
Sense 2.4 (“fetid, watery discharge from a sore”) is from Middle English icor, icore [and other forms], from Medieval Latin ichor; see further above.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An ethereal fluid that supplied the place of blood in the veins of the gods.
- noun A thin, acrid, watery discharge from an ulcer, wound, etc.
Etymology [NL., fr. Gr. ichor.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ichor”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details