raw cotton made absorbent by the removal of its wax: used for surgical dressings, etc.
absorbent cotton in American English
noun
cotton for surgical dressings, cosmetic purposes, etc., made absorbent by removing the natural wax
Word origin
[1885–90, Amer.]This word is first recorded in the period 1885–90. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: booster, foregut, reactor, retread, upsweep