fecula

See also: fécula

English

Alternative forms

• fæcula, faecula

Etymology

From Latin faecula, diminutive of faex (“residue, dregs”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛkjʊlə/
• Rhymes: -ɛkjʊlə

Noun

fecula (countable and uncountable, plural feculas or feculae)

1. Starchy sediment extracted from plants, especially those which are used as food.
   • 1843, Robley Dunglison, “Demulcents”, in General Therapeutics and Materia Medica, Adapted for a Medical Text Book. [...] In Two Volumes, volume II, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lea and Blanchard, →OCLC, section VIII (Agents whose Action is Prominently Mechanical), page 396:

     Arrowroot is the fecula of Maran′ta arundina′cea or West Indian arrowroot; Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia; Nat. Ord. Marantaceæ; a plant, which is a native of South America and the West Indies, where it is largely cultivated in gardens and provision grounds. The tubers or roots are beaten into a pulp, stirred with cold water, removing the fibres with the hand; the milky juice is passed through a fine sieve, and the starch is allowed to subside in the strained fluid. The fecula is then washed, and dried without heat. This is the Arrowroot.

See also

• arrowroot
• cornstarch
• sago
• tapioca

Anagrams

• Cefalu, Cefalù