mucilage
/ˈmjuːsɪlɪdʒ
/noun [mass noun]
1A viscous secretion or bodily fluid.It has also been suggested that it reduces soil mechanical impedance by means of its secretion of slimy mucilage and by the sloughing of border cells....
- The mucilage is probably secreted by this apical cell.
- Additional mucilage is secreted by rhizosphere microbes.
1.1A polysaccharide substance extracted as a viscous or gelatinous solution from plant roots, seeds, etc., and used in medicines and adhesives.Dietary fibre consists of plant material such as cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, polysaccharides, gums, mucilage and lignin....
- It will thus be a very useful new tool in, for example, investigations of the effects of changing environmental conditions on the metabolism of mucilage and other polysaccharides.
- The root contains mucilage, which is used in China for sizing paper.
1.2North American An adhesive solution; gum or glue.Mrs. Williams also brought a pair of blunt-edged scissors, and some mucilage - a thick, brownish liquid that oozed out through a slit in the rubber-slanted cover when you pressed on it just right....
- Because If I see you even take one step out of that chair, I'm going to hog-tie you and gag you, but not before I clamp your jaws shut with mucilage!
- With HotKeys, you can pretty much keep on working even if a fun-loving but unscrupulous co-worker puts mucilage in your mouse.
Derivatives
mucilaginous
/ adjective ...- The broad brown fronds are typically about 1 m long and 36 cm wide, with a thick mucilaginous centre rib and lobelike projections at the sides.
- Okra is what is called a mucilaginous vegetable.
- Scooping out handfuls of gooey Vaseline-like grease from a plastic bucket, the performers methodically covered themselves and the sculptures with the mucilaginous lubricant.
Origin
Late Middle English: via French from late Latin mucilago 'musty juice', from Latin mucus (see mucus).