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Webster 1913 Edition


Viscous

Vis′cous

,
Adj.
[L.
viscosus
. See
Viscid
.]
Adhesive or sticky, and having a ropy or glutinous consistency; viscid; glutinous; clammy; tenacious;
as, a
viscous
juice
.
Vis′cous-ness
,
Noun.
☞ There is no well-defined distinction in meaning between viscous and viscid.

Webster 1828 Edition


Viscous

VIS'COUS

,
Adj.
[L. viscus, birdlime.]
Glutinous; clammy; sticky; adhesive; tenacious; as a viscous juice.

Definition 2024


viscous

viscous

English

Adjective

viscous (comparative more viscous, superlative most viscous)

  1. 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, p. 7]”, in The New York Times:
      [] 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.
  2. (physics) Of or pertaining to viscosity

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Translations


Old French

Etymology

Latin viscōsus.

Adjective

viscous m (oblique and nominative feminine singular viscouse)

  1. viscous (of a liquid, thick; tending to flow slowly)

Descendants

References