serum
[seer-uh m]
- the clear, pale-yellow liquid that separates from the clot in the coagulation of blood; blood serum.
- immune serum.
- any watery animal fluid.
- the thin, clear part of the fluid of plants.
- milk whey.
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Origin of serum
1655–65; < Latin: whey
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for serum
Contemporary Examples
A Washington Post blog asks: “Why do two white Americans get the Ebola serum while hundreds of Africans die?”
The New Republic demands: “Why did two U.S. missionaries get an Ebola serum while Africans are left to die?”
Never mind that there seem to have been no more than eight doses of the serum in existence.
The serum failed to neutralize the virus in subsequent tests and seemed to offer little protection in animal experiments.
But it was not entirely clear whether the serum was responsible for the happy outcome.
Historical Examples
Serifluus means flowing with serum, the watery part of milk.
The Mushroom, Edible and OtherwiseM. E. Hard
My serum can destroy your conscious mind—but not your native fear?
The Floating Island of MadnessJason Kirby
Serum: the fluid in which the blood corpuscles float or are suspended.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
They find the effect of this serum much better than that of others.
A Journey Through France in War TimeJoseph G. Butler, Jr.
He took a mouse from the box I had seen, and with a needle injected the serum.
The Silent BulletArthur B. Reeve
serum
- See blood serum
- antitoxin obtained from the blood serum of immunized animals
- physiol zoology clear watery fluid, esp that exuded by serous membranes
- a less common word for whey
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin: whey
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
Word Origin and History for serum
n.
1670s, "watery animal fluid," from Latin serum "watery fluid, whey," from PIE root *ser- (2) "to run, flow" (cf. Greek oros "whey;" Sanskrit sarah "flowing," sarit "brook, river"). First applied 1893 to blood serum used in medical treatments.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
serum
(sîr′əm)- A watery fluid, especially one that moistens the surface of serous membranes or that is exuded by such membranes when they become inflamed.
- The clear yellowish fluid obtained upon separating whole blood into its solid and liquid components.
- Such fluid from the tissues of immunized animals, containing antibodies and used to transfer immunity to another individual.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
serum
[sîr′əm]
- See blood serum.
- Blood serum extracted from an animal that has immunity to a particular disease. The serum contains antibodies to one or more specific disease antigens, and when injected into humans or other animals, it can transfer immunity to those diseases.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.