lactescent

[ lak-tes-uh nt ]

/ lækˈtɛs ənt /

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adjective

becoming or being milky.

Botany, Entomology. secreting or producing a milky juice.

Nearby words

lactation, lactation amenorrhea, lactation tetany, lacteal, lacteous, lactescent, lacti-, lactic, lactic acid, lacticacidemia, lactiferous

Origin of lactescent

1660–70; < Latin lactēscent- (stem of lactēscēns), present participle of lactēscere to turn into milk, produce milk. See lact-, -escent

Related forms

lac·tes·cence, lac·tes·cen·cy, nounnon·lac·tes·cent, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for lactescent

Lactescent, producing milky juice, as does the Milkweed, &c.
The Elements of Botany|Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for lactescent

lactescent

/ (lækˈtɛsənt) /

adjective

(of plants and certain insects) secreting a milky fluid

milky or becoming milky

Derived Forms

lactescence, noun

Word Origin for lactescent

C18: from Latin lactescēns, from lactescēre to become milky, from lact-, lac milk

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

Medicine definitions for lactescent

lactescent

[ lăk-tĕs′ənt ]

adj.

Becoming milky.

Milky.

Secreting or yielding a milky juice, as certain plants and insects.