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starch

UK/ˈstɑːt͡ʃ/ US/ˈstɑːt͡ʃ/ uncommon
noun (1) verb (1)

noun

1.

a complex carbohydrate found chiefly in seeds, fruits, tubers, roots and stem pith of plants, notably in corn, potatoes, wheat, and rice; an important foodstuff and used otherwise especially in adhesives and as fillers and stiffeners for paper and textiles

Synonyms

verb

1.

stiffen with starch

  • “starch clothes”

Origin

From Middle English starche, sterche, from Old English *stierċe (“stiffness, rigidity, strength”), from Proto-West Germanic *starkī (“stiffness, rigidity, fortitude, strength”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sterg- (“stiff, rigid”). Cognate with dialectal Dutch sterk (“strong”), Middle Low German sterke (“strength”), German Stärke (“strength", also "starch”), Swedish stärkelse (“starch”), Icelandic sterkja (“starch”). Related to English stark (“stiff, strong, vigorous, powerful”).

Phrases

  • animal starch
  • hydroxypropyl starch
  • hydroxypropyl starch glycerine
  • hydroxypropyl starch phosphate
  • modified starch
  • potato starch
  • starch generator
  • starch hyacinth

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.