mucilage
UK /ˈmjuː.sɪ.lɪd͡ʒ/ · US /ˈmju.sɪ.lɪd͡ʒ/ noun
Forms mucilages
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English muscilage, mussillage, from Middle French mucilage (“viscous substance found in vegetable material”), from Late Latin mūcilāgō (“musty or moldy juice”). See Greek μούχλα (moúchla, “mold”), and related derivatives, for example mushroom, from *meus- (“mosses, mold, mildew”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A gummy or gelatinous substance produced in certain plants by the action of water on the cell wall, as in the seeds of quinces, of flax, etc.
- noun An aqueous solution of gum, or of substances allied to it; as, medicinal mucilage; mucilage for fastening envelopes.
Etymology [F., from L. mucilago a musty juice, fr. mucus mucus, slime. See Mucus.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mucilage”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details