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yolk

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yolk

  [yohk, yohlk]
Use yolk in a Sentence
–noun
1. the yellow and principal substance of an egg, as distinguished from the white.
2. Embryology. the part of the contents of the egg of an animal that enters directly into the formation of the embryo, together with any material that nourishes the embryo during its formation.
3. the essential part; the inner core.
4. a natural grease exuded from the skin of sheep.
Also, yoke.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME yolke, yelke, OE geoloca, deriv. of geolu yellow

Related forms:
yolked, adjective
yolkless, adjective
yolky, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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yolk   (yōk)   
n.  

    1. The yellow, usually spherical portion of an egg of a bird or reptile, surrounded by the albumen and serving as nutriment for the developing young.

    2. A corresponding portion of the egg of other animals, consisting of protein and fat that serve as the primary source of nourishment for the early embryo and protoplasmic substances from which the embryo develops.

  2. A greasy substance found in unprocessed sheep's wool.


[Middle English yolke, from Old English geolca, from geolu, yellow; see yellow.]
yolk'y adj.
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
yolk

  1. n.
    semen. (Possibly confused with egg white.) : Clean up that yolk before somebody sees it.
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

yolk 
O.E. geolca, geoloca "yolk," lit. "the yellow part," from geolu "yellow" (see yellow). Formerly also spelled yelk.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: yolk
Pronunciation: 'yOk
Function: noun
: material stored in an ovum that supplies food to the developing embryo and consists chiefly ofproteins, lecithin, and cholesterol
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

yolk (yōk)
n.
The portion of the egg of an animal that consists of protein and fat from which the early embryo gets its main nourishment and of protoplasmic substances from which the embryo develops.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
yolk   (yōk)  Pronunciation Key 
The yellow internal part of the egg of a bird or reptile. The yolk is surrounded by the albumen and supplies food to the developing young.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

yolk

the nutritive material of an egg, used as food by a developing, embryonic animal. Eggs with relatively little, uniformly distributed yolk are termed isolecithal. This condition occurs in invertebrates and in all but the lowest mammals. Eggs with abundant yolk concentrated in one hemisphere of the egg are termed telolecithal. This occurs in many invertebrates and in all vertebrates lower than marsupial mammals. In arthropods, the yolk is massed near the centre of the egg; such eggs are termed centrolecithal

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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