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

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Etymology

Origin of fecula

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fecula feculae

We do not understand why, firstly, articles containing a great deal of fecula, and, as it is said, "requiring a great action of the intestines," are forbidden, while, in the second place, rice is recommended.

From North American Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3, July, 1826 by Franklin Bache

The two varieties of the Cassava afford a very superior fecula, which is imported under the name of Brazilian arrowroot.

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 P. L. Simmonds

A fecula is washed from the abundant pith, which is chemically a starch, very demulcent, and more digestible than that of rice.

From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by William Thomas Fernie

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 P. L. Simmonds

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 Jules Verne

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 Jules Verne

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 William Henry Giles Kingston

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