tragacanth
(noun) a gum used in pharmacy, adhesives, and textile printing
Source: WordNet® 3.1
tragacanth (countable and uncountable, plural tragacanths)
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. [from 16th c.]
• E413 when used as a thickener, stabiliser and emulsifier
Source: Wiktionary
Trag"a*canth, n. Etym: [L. tragacanthum tragacanth, tragacantha the plant producing tragacanth, Gr. tragacanthe.]
Definition: A kind of gum procured from a spiny leguminous shrub (Astragalus gummifer) of Western Asia, and other species of Astragalus. It comes in hard whitish or yellowish flakes or filaments, and is nearly insoluble in water, but slowly swells into a mucilaginous mass, which is used as a substitute for gum arabic in medicine and the arts. Called also gum tragacanth.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
28 June 2025
(adjective) having an allergy or peculiar or excessive susceptibility (especially to a specific factor); “allergic children”; “hypersensitive to pollen”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
