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Starched

 - 6 dictionary results

starch

  [stahrch] ,
Use Starched in a Sentence
–noun
1. a white, tasteless, solid carbohydrate, (C6H1 0O5)n, occurring in the form of minute granules in the seeds, tubers, and other parts of plants, and forming an important constituent of rice, corn, wheat, beans, potatoes, and many other vegetable foods.
2. a commercial preparation of this substance used to stiffen textile fabrics in laundering.
3. starches, foods rich in natural starch.
4. stiffness or formality, as of manner: He is so full of starch he can't relax.
5. Informal. vigor; energy; stamina; boldness.
–verb (used with object)
6. to stiffen or treat with starch.
7. to make stiff or rigidly formal (sometimes fol. by up).
Origin:
1375–1425; (v.) late ME sterchen orig., to stiffen, OE stercean to make stiff, strengthen, deriv. of stearc stark; c. G stärken to strengthen; (n.) late ME starch(e), sterche, deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
starchless, adjective
starchlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Starched
starch   (stärch)   
n.  

  1. A naturally abundant nutrient carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, found chiefly in the seeds, fruits, tubers, roots, and stem pith of plants, notably in corn, potatoes, wheat, and rice, and varying widely in appearance according to source but commonly prepared as a white amorphous tasteless powder.

  2. Any of various substances, such as natural starch, used to stiffen cloth, as in laundering.

  3. starches Foods having a high content of starch, as rice, breads, and potatoes.

    1. Stiff behavior.

    2. Vigor; mettle: "Business travel can take the starch out of the most self-assured corporate titan" (Lisa Faye Kaplan).

tr.v.   starched, starch·ing, starch·es
To stiffen with starch.

[Middle English starche, substance used to stiffen cloth (sense uncertain), from sterchen, to stiffen, from Old English *stercan; see ster-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
starched

and starchy
  1. mod.
    alcohol intoxicated. (See also stiff.) : No, he wasn't quite stiff, but he was starched.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

starch  (v.)
1402, from O.E. *stercan (Mercian), *stiercan (W.Saxon) "make rigid," found in stercedferhð "fixed, hard, resolute" (related to stearc "stiff"), from P.Gmc. *starkijanan (cf. Ger. Stärke "strength, starch"), from PIE base *ster- "strong, firm, stiff, rigid" (see stark). The noun meaning "pasty substance used to stiffen cloth" is first recorded c.1440, from the verb. Fig. sense of "stiffness of manner" is recorded from 1705.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: starch
Pronunciation: 'stärch
Function: noun
: a white odorless tasteless granular or powdery complex carbohydrate(C6H10O5)x that is the chief storage form of carbohydrate in plants, is an important foodstuff, has demulcent and absorbent properties, and is used inpharmacy especially as a dusting powder and as a constituent of ointments and pastes
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

starch (stärch)
n.

  1. A naturally abundant nutrient carbohydrate found chiefly in the seeds, fruits, tubers, roots, and stem pith of plants, and commonly prepared as a white, amorphous, tasteless powder used in powders, ointments, and pastes. Also called amylum.

  2. A food having a high content of starch, such as rice, bread, and potatoes.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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