tragacanth
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.13 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A polysaccharide gum, extracted from several species of leguminous plants of the genus Astragalus, formerly used medicinally and now as a food additive. Also more fully gum tragacanth.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Where what I have to note is too much to be included within the narrow limits of a margin, I commit it to a slip of paper, and deposit it between the leaves; taking care to secure it by an imperceptible portion of gum tragacanth paste."
- "There would have been many gums and resins in these markets for our lute-maker to bind his wood with: […] gum tragacanth from Aleppo, which would be sold as thin and wrinkled worm-like pieces of shrub."
Etymology
Etymology tree Ancient Greek τρᾰ́γω (trắgō) Ancient Greek -ος (-os) Ancient Greek τράγος (trágos) Proto-Hellenic *akā́ Ancient Greek ἀκή (akḗ) Proto-Indo-European *h₂endʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h₂éndʰos Proto-Hellenic *ántʰos Ancient Greek ἄνθος (ánthos) Pre-Greek? Ancient Greek ἄκανθα (ákantha) Koine Greek τραγάκανθα (tragákantha) Latin tragacantha English tragacanth From Latin tragacantha, from Koine Greek τραγάκανθα (tragákantha, “tragacanth”), from Ancient Greek τράγος (trágos, “goat”) + ἄκανθα (ákantha, “thorn”). Doublet of adragant.
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Synonyms
E413 when used as a thickener
stabiliser and emulsifier