fecula

American  

[fek-yuh-luh] / ˈfɛk jə lə /

noun

feculae plural

1. fecal matter, especially of insects.

2. foul or muddy matter; dregs.

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fecula British  

/ ˈfɛkjʊlə /

noun

1. starch obtained by washing the crushed parts of plants, such as the potato

2. faecal material, esp of insects

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• feculae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fecula

< Latin faecula burnt tartar, dried lees of wine, equivalent to faec- (stem of faex; see feces) + -ula -ule

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fecula feculae

After some time a green fecula is deposited in the bottom of the water, which is washed, and made into cakes and sold for use.

From The Botanist's Companion, Volume II by Salisbury, William

Most of the arrow-root, the fecula of the Maranta arudinacea, sold by druggists, is a mixture of potatoe starch and arrow-root.

From A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons Exhibiting the Fraudulent Sophistications of Bread, Beer, Wine, Spiritous Liquors, Tea, Coffee, Cream, Confectionery, Vinegar, Mustard, Pepper, Cheese, Olive Oil, Pickles, and Other Articles Employed in Domestic Economy by Accum, Friedrich Christian

Of plants yielding starch we have the Indian arrowroot, which is the fecula in the rhizomata of several species of the Marantaceæ.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by Simmonds, P. L.

Starch, or fecula, occurs largely in dicotyledonous seeds, peas, &c., and still more abundantly in certain monocotyledonous seeds, such as wheat and barley.

From The Stock-Feeder's Manual the chemistry of food in relation to the breeding and feeding of live stock by Cameron, Charles Alexander, Sir

With this fecula was mingled a mucilaginous juice of disagreeable flavour, but which it would be easy to get rid of by pressure.

From Abandoned by Verne, Jules

Scoriae, in a state of dust, like powdered pumice-stone, and grayish ashes as small as the finest feculae, were held in suspension in the midst of their thick folds.

From The Mysterious Island by Verne, Jules

Scorias, in a state of dust, like powdered pumice-stone, and greyish ashes as small as the finest feculae, were held in suspension in the midst of their thick folds.

From The Secret of the Island by Kingston, William Henry Giles