mucilage

[myoo-suh-lij]

noun

1. any of various, usually liquid, preparations of gum, glue, or the like, used as an adhesive.

2. any of various gummy secretions or gelatinous substances present in plants.

mucilage

/ ˈmjuːsɪlɪdʒ, ˌmjuːsɪˈlædʒɪnəs /

noun

1. a sticky preparation, such as gum or glue, used as an adhesive

2. a complex glutinous carbohydrate secreted by certain plants

Other Word Forms

• mucilaginousness noun
• mucilaginously adverb
• mucilaginous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mucilage¹

1350–1400; Middle English muscilage < Middle French musillage < Late Latin mūcilāgō a musty juice, akin to mūcēre to be musty. See mucor

Word History and Origins

Origin of mucilage¹

C14: via Old French from Late Latin mūcilāgo mouldy juice; see _mucid

Example Sentences

When ripe, the ovoid-shaped fruits detach from the stem and eject the seeds explosively in a high-pressure jet of mucilage.

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Key examples are mustard and garlic, which contain "mucilage" — a mix of carbohydrates — that can act as emulsifiers.

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Inside were the cocoa beans: nodules wrapped in a sweet, slimy white pulp known as mucilage.

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Turkey’s president called the slime a “mucilage calamity,” and workers were dispatched to vacuum it up using hoses.

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In Canakkale, a popular tourist town on the Dardanelles where the Marmara feeds into the Aegean, vacationers peered into the harbor at the mucilage that had turned the sea into the consistency of clam chowder.

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