viscous
English
WOTD – 5 March 2008
Etymology
First attested in 1605. Borrowed from Middle French visqueux and Late Latin viscōsus, from Latin viscum (“birdlime”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA(key): /ˈvɪs.kəs/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Homophone: viscus
- Rhymes: -ɪskəs
Adjective
viscous (comparative more viscous, superlative most viscous)
- Having a thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid.
- 2014 December 23, Olivia Judson, “The hemiparasite season [print version: Under the hemiparasite, International New York Times, 24–25 December 2014, page 7]”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 23 December 2014:
- […] The flesh [of the mistletoe berry] is sticky, and forms strings and ribbons between my thumb and forefinger. For the mistletoe, this viscous goop – and by the way, viscous comes to English from viscum – is crucial. The stickiness means that, after eating the berries, birds often regurgitate the seeds and then wipe their bills on twigs – leading to the seeds' getting glued to the tree, where they can germinate and begin the cycle anew.
-
- (physics) Of or pertaining to viscosity.
Synonyms
- (having a thick consistency): syrupy, viscid, viscose, thickflowing
Antonyms
- (physics): inviscid
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
having a thick, sticky consistency
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Old French
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin viscōsus, from Latin viscum.
Adjective
viscous m (oblique and nominative feminine singular viscouse)
- viscous (of a liquid, thick; tending to flow slowly)
References
- viscous on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
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