viscous
[vis-kuh s]
- of a glutinous nature or consistency; sticky; thick; adhesive.
- having the property of viscosity.
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Also viscose.
Origin of viscous
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin viscōsus, equivalent to Latin visc(um) mistletoe, birdlime (made with mistletoe berries) + -ōsus -ous
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
slimygooeysyrupyadhesiveclammygelatinousstifftenaciousthicktoughglutinousmucilaginousviscidglueyropyExamples from the Web for viscous
Contemporary Examples
What The Great Beauty and Fellini share is the Roman light—3,000 years of viscous sun.
Black gays, in turn, are accusing their white gay peers of viscous racism.
Historical Examples
The man and woman were chopping at the viscous, gruesome head.
All about him the straw was clotted with brown, viscous patches of blood.
Bardelys the MagnificentRafael Sabatini
Matt nodded, and pointed to the viscous deposit in the dome of the bell.
The Raid on the TermitesPaul Ernst
The same is true of all viscous substances, as starch and glue; and so of oil.
Farm drainageHenry Flagg French
His right eye had suffered damage, and the pupil of it was white and viscous.
The History of Sir Richard CalmadyLucas Malet
viscous
viscose
- (of liquids) thick and sticky; viscid
- having or involving viscosity
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Word Origin
C14: from Late Latin viscōsus; see viscose
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 viscous
adj.
late 14c., from Anglo-French viscous, from Late Latin viscosus "sticky," from Latin viscum "anything sticky, birdlime made from mistletoe, mistletoe," probably from PIE root *weis- "to melt away, flow" (used of foul or malodorous fluids); see virus.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
viscous
(vĭs′kəs)- Having relatively high resistance to flow.
- Viscid.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
viscous
[vĭs′kəs]
- Having relatively high resistance to flow (high viscosity).
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.