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

The tubers contain a great amount of starch, which is obtained by rasping them and macerating four or five days in water, when the fecula separates in the same manner as sago.

From Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture by William Saunders

There is no doubt, however, that the quality of the water has a great deal of influence on the fecula.

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

Arrow-root, and tout-les-mois, is the fecula obtained by a similar process from those several roots, the nutritious qualities of which are too well known in the sick chamber to call for further mention.

From Antigua and the Antiguans, Volume II (of 2) A full account of the colony and its inhabitants from the time of the Caribs to the present day by Anonymous

Now, God refused to descend into the fecula.

From Against the Grain by J.-K. (Joris-Karl) Huysmans

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 Sir Charles Alexander Cameron

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