tragacanth

American  

[trag-uh-kanth, traj-] / ˈtræg əˌkænθ, ˈtrædʒ- /

noun

1. a gummy substance derived from various low, spiny, Asian shrubs belonging to the genus Astragalus, of the legume family, especially A. gummifer: used to impart firmness to pills and lozenges, stiffen calicoes, etc.

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tragacanth British  

/ ˈtræɡəˌkænθ /

noun

1. any of various spiny leguminous plants of the genus Astragalus , esp A. gummifer , of Asia, having clusters of white, yellow, or purple flowers, and yielding a substance that is made into a gum

2. the gum obtained from any of these plants, used in the manufacture of pills and lozenges, etc

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Etymology

Origin of tragacanth

1565–75; < Latin tragacantha goat's thorn < Greek tragákantha, equivalent to trág ( os ) goat + ákantha thorn. Cf. tragedy, acantho-

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tragacanth

They mixed blood plasma with a little sulfanilamide and some gum tragacanth to make a paste, used it on twelve second-degree burns.

From Time Magazine Archive

Gum kuteera resembles in appearance gum tragacanth, for which the attempt has occasionally been made to substitute it.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6 "Groups, Theory of" to "Gwyniad" by Various

For a still higher finish the biscuit is sized with a solution of gum tragacanth.

From Pottery, for Artists Craftsmen & Teachers by George J. Cox

There also for the first time I found the Astragalus verus, the gum tragacanth of commerce.

From Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume II (of 2) Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs by Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird

In colour gum tragacanth is of a dull white; it occurs in horny, flexible and tough, thin, twisted flakes, translucent, and with peculiar wavy lines on the surface.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6 "Groups, Theory of" to "Gwyniad" by Various