fecula

[fek-yuh-luh]

noun, plural fec·u·lae [fek-yuh-lee] /ˈfɛk yəˌli/.

fecal matter, especially of insects.

foul or muddy matter; dregs.

Origin of fecula

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fecula

Historical Examples of fecula

It is this fecula which serves for making the rouge employed by ladies.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines
Andrew Ure
A great deal of the foreign extract is mixed with fecula, or the pulp of plums, hence its inferior quality.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
There are three main methods of saccharifying the fecula or starch of the potato.
A Practical Handbook on the Distillation of Alcohol from Farm Products
F. B. Wright
Thus the fecula or starch is set at liberty and free to be acted on by the yeast used in fermenting.
A Practical Handbook on the Distillation of Alcohol from Farm Products
F. B. Wright
About twice as much water as fecula will bring the paste to proper consistency.
A Practical Handbook on the Distillation of Alcohol from Farm Products
F. B. Wright

British Dictionary definitions for fecula

fecula

noun plural -lae (-ˌliː)

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

faecal material, esp of insects

Word Origin for fecula

C17: from Latin: burnt tartar, appearing as a crust in wine, from faex sediment

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