Tragacanth

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Tragacanth \Trag"a*canth\, n. [L. tragacanthum tragacanth,
     tragacantha the plant producing tragacanth, Gr. ? ? a he-goat
     + ? a thorn: cf. F. tragacanthe.]
     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}.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Dracanth \Dra"canth\, n.
     A kind of gum; -- called also {gum tragacanth}, or
     {tragacanth}. See {Tragacanth}.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  tragacanth
       n : a gum used in pharmacy, adhesives, and textile printing