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agar

[ah-gahr, ag-er]
noun
  1. Also a·gar-a·gar. Also called Chinese gelatin, Chinese isinglass, Japanese gelatin, Japanese isinglass. a gelatinlike product of certain seaweeds, used for solidifying certain culture media, as a thickening agent for ice cream and other foods, as a substitute for gelatin, in adhesives, as an emulsifier, etc.
  2. Biology. a culture medium having an agar base.
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Origin of agar

First recorded in 1885–90, agar is from the Malay word agaragar seaweed from which a gelatin is rendered, or the gelatin itself

Agar

[ey-gahr]
noun Douay Bible.
  1. Hagar.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for agar

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I coughed, and Agar, who had taken my arm-chair, wanted to give it me back.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • On leaving my two friends I drove straight to Agar's to tell her what had happened.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • Agar was to be introduced by Princess Mathilde, to whom she was then sitting as Minerva.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • Bring some more cakes, and tell Miss Agar to come and pour out the tea.

    Olive in Italy

    Moray Dalton

  • Weigh out French maltose, 40 grammes, and dissolve in the agar.

British Dictionary definitions for agar

agar

noun
  1. a complex gelatinous carbohydrate obtained from seaweeds, esp those of the genus Gelidium, used as a culture medium for bacteria, a laxative, in food such as ice cream as a thickening agent (E406), etcAlso called: agar-agar
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Word Origin

C19: Malay
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
agar in Medicine

agar

(ā′gär′, ä′gär′)
n.
  1. A gelatinous material derived from marine algae, used as a base for bacterial culture media and as a stabilizer and thickener in food.
  2. A culture medium containing this material.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
agar in Science

agar

[ā′gär′, ä′gär′]
  1. A gelatinous material obtained from marine algae, especially seaweed, used as a medium for growing bacterial cultures in the laboratory and as a thickener and stabilizer in food products.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.