Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Starch |
StarchNoun1. A complex carbohydrate found chiefly in seeds, fruits, tubers, roots and stem pith of plants, notably in corn, potatoes, wheat, and rice; an important foodstuff and used otherwise especially in adhesives and as fillers and stiffeners for paper and textiles. Verb1. Stiffen with starch; "starch clothes". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "starch" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1615. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Chemical Industry | To stiffen or treat with starch. Source: European Union. (references) |
Chemistry | A hydrocarbonic substance, extracted from cereal seeds(barley, maize, rice, wheat), composed of amylopecting and amylose, which is insoluble in cold water but swells in water at 80 deg. C(starch paste)and through hydrolysis, conduces to dextrins(soluble starches). Source: European Union. (references) |
Literature | Starch Mrs. Anne Turner, half-milliner, half-procuress, introduced into England the French custom of using yellow starch in getting up bands and cuffs. She trafficked in poison, and being concerned in the murder of St. Thomas Overbury, appeared on the scaffold with a huge ruff. This was done by Lord Coke's order, and was the means of putting an end to this absurd fashion. "I shall never forget poor Mistress Turner, my honoured patroness, peaco be with her! She had the ill-luck to meddle in the matter of Somerse, and Overbury, and so the great earl and his had slipt their necks out of the collar, and left their and some half-dozen others to suffer in their stead."- Sir Walter Scott: Fortanes of Nigel, viii. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Mining | Used as depressant in flotation process. Alkaline starch (starch dissolved in dilute sodium hydroxide) is a flocculating agent used in purifying thewater in coal-cleaning plants. Also known as amylum. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In biochemistry, starch is a polymeric carbohydrate (a polysaccharide), in which the monomers are glucose units joined to one another usually head-to-tail. The overall structure is not, however, simply a linear polysaccharide chain, since occasionally, two glucose units are joined to one, forming a branch point.
Starch is often found in the fruit, seeds, or tuberss of plants.
Animal Starch is the common name of glycogen. It is not the same as ordinary starch.
Clothing starch or laundry starch is a liquid that is prepared by mixing a vegetable starch in water (earlier preparations also had to be boiled), and is used in the laundering of clothes. During the 19th century and early 20th century, it was stylish to stiffen the collars and sleeves of men's shirts and the ruffles of girls' petticoats by applying starch to them as the cleaned clothes were being ironed.
Aside from the smooth, crisp edges it gave to clothing, it served a practical purpose as well. Dirt and sweat from a man's neck and wrists would stick to the starch rather than fibers of the clothing, and would easily wash away along with the starch. Then, after each laundering, the starch would be reapplied.
See also the article on how to make starch from frosted potatoes from the 1881 Household Cyclopedia.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Starch."
Synonym: StarchSynonym: amylum (n). (additional references) |
| Synonym by domain: amylum (food & agriculture, medicine). |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Affectation | Stiff, starch, formal, prim, smug, demure, tire a quatre epingles, quakerish, puritanical, prudish, pragmatical, priggish, conceited, coxcomical, foppish, dandified; finical, finikin; mincing, simpering, namby-pamby, sentimental. |
Hardness | Adjective: hard, rigid, stubborn, stiff, firm; starch, starched; stark, unbending, unlimber, unyielding; inflexible, tense; indurate, indurated; gritty, proof. |
Adamant, adamantine, adamantean; concrete, stony, granitic, calculous, lithic, vitreous; horny, corneous; bony; osseous, ossific; cartilaginous; hard as a rock. Noun: stiff as buckram, stiff as a poker; stiff as starch, stiff as as board. | |
Pride | Stiff, stiff-necked; starch; perked stuck-up; in buckram, strait-laced; prim; (affected). |
Semiliquidity | Jelly, mucilage, gelatin, gluten; carlock, fish glue; ichthyocol, ichthycolla; isinglass; mucus, phlegm, goo; pituite, lava; glair, starch, gluten, albumen, milk, cream, protein; treacle; gum, size, glue (tenacity); wax, beeswax. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Title | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | New uses for cornstarch continue to surprise us. for example, when ARS scientists married starch to a synthetic chemical, they managed to create a product so thirsty, it could absorb hundreds of times its own weight in water. Someone called it SuperSlurper, and the name stuck. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer.. |  | Products of twin-screw processing include fluid glycosides (1) for making rigid polyurethane foam blocks (2), starchencapsulated herbicide strands (3) that can be made into granules (4), semiflexible polyurethane foam with starch filler (5), cationic starch (6), and the famous superabsorbent starch, Super Slurper (7). P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Keith Weller.. |
 | Crates of sweet potatoes being weighed at starch plant, Laurel, Mississippi. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Chemist running microscopic test on sweet potato starch at plant, Laurel, Missisippi. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Factory financed by F.E.R.A. (Federal Emergency Relief Administration) for producing starch from sweet potatoes. Laurel, Mississippi. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Inferior grade potatoes brought for sale to a starch factory in Van Buren, Maine. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Unloading potatoes at a starch factory in Van Buren, Maine. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | A starch factory in Caribou, Maine, along the Aroostook River. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Trucks outside of a starch factory ... Caribou, Aroostook County, Me. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | A starch factory along the Aroostook River, Caribou, Aroostook County, Me. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Apply corn starch as you would a dusting powder. (references) | |
Try using nonmedicated talcum powder or corn starch to relieve anal discomfort. (references) | ||
Starch will stabilize your blood sugar level in the early night, while protein acts as a long-acting stabilizer. (references) | ||
Business | Size can include starch, polyvinyl alcohol or carbomethyl cellulose. (references) | |
Currently IP is used to identify crop varieties which provide features concerning the content or composition of products (e.g., protein content, starch level, oil content). (references) | ||
Therefore, China needs to import $100 million worth of food additives every year. These imports include sorbitol, dextrin and dematured starch, polyols, lysine, glutamic acid, MSG, propylene glycol, and enzyme preparations, among others. (references) | ||
Economic History | Egypt | There is also production of starch and glucose, which uses imported corn. (references) |
St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Industry: Types--Plastic products, food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch, and detergents. (references) | |
Turkey | There has also been significant expansion of production capacity for starch and high fructose corn syrups. (references) | |
Trade | France | Most processed products entering the European Union and France are subject to additional import charges based on the percentage of sugar, milk fat, milk protein and starch in the product. (references) |
Philippines | Category I includes: bakery & bakery related products; non-alcoholic beverages & beverage mixes; candies & confectionery products; cocoa & cocoa related products; coffee, tea & non-dairy creamer; condiments, sauces & seasonings; culinary products; gelatin, dessert preparation & mixes; dairy products; dressings & spreads; flour/flour mixes & starch; fish & other marine products; fruits, vegetable & edible fungi (prepared); meat and poultry products (prepared); noodles, pastas & pastry wrapper; nut & nut products; native delicacies; oils, fats & shortening; snack foods & breakfast cereals and; sugar & other related products. (references) | |
Brazil | Breeder livestock (cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses and donkeys, including semen and embryos); wine and brandy, distilled spirits (rum, wodka and whiskey); fresh vegetables (asparagus, beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, corn, garlic, lettuce, onions, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes); canned vegetables (asparagus, beans, carrots, corn, peas, tomatoes and tomato paste); frozen vegetables (beans, broccoli, carrots, corn and spinach); peanut butter or peanut flour; dairy products (butter, butter oil, ghee, anhydrous milk fat, non-fat and whole milk powder, whey powder, whey protein concentrate, lactose, non-sweetened condensed milk, fluid milk, lecithin and cheese); ice cream; meat, frozen or chilled (beef, pork and their products);wheat, wheat flour, semolina; cotton, 100% cotton yarn, 100% cotton fabrics (woven and knit unbleached/bleached/dyed, and/or printed); rice; feed grains (barley, including malting barley, white corn, yellow corn, sorghum and oats); corn products (flour, starch, corn meal, popcorn and gluten); pulses(dry beans, peas and lentils), poultry breeder stock (baby chicks, turkey pouts and hatching eggs); eggs and egg products (fresh, dry, refrigerated, frozen, albumin, etc); fresh fruits (apples, apricots, avocados, blueberries, cherries, grapes, grapefruit, kiwi, lemons, melons, nectarines, oranges, pears, plums, peaches, raspberries and tangerines); hops: hops extract; tallow: grease, lard, barley malt; potatoes(cut and chilled or frozen; flakes, granules); peanuts; commercially prepared dog and cat food, animal feed ingredients, fish food; seeds for sowing; almonds ( walnuts, pistachios, hazelnut and pecan); dry fruits, frozen fruits, canned fruits, fruit pure and fruit pulp, 100% natural fruit juice; seafood (fresh and frozen);tomato paste; alfalfa; honey; skins; nutritional beverages preparations (for human consumption); soy protein products; vegetable oils; wood; beer; cereals; preparation for breads and pizzas (powder, refrigerated of frozen); canned pickles; ready-to-eat meals; soft drinks and sodas; soups and sauces. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Starch" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 91.84% of the time. "Starch" is used about 98 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 91.84% | 90 | 34,744 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 4.08% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 3.06% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Noun (common) | 1.02% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 98 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "starch" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Starch | Last name | 130 | 67,573 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
| Country | Name |
| India | The Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals Limited |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "starch": alant starch ♦ animal starch ♦ arrowroot starch ♦ cassava starch ♦ corn starch ♦ corn starch US ♦ maize starch ♦ maize starch GB ♦ milk of starch ♦ modified starch ♦ pea starch ♦ potato starch ♦ starch cellulose ♦ starch flour ♦ starch hyacinth ♦ starch sugar ♦ Starch Synthase ♦ starch the collar ♦ starch wheat ♦ stiff as starch. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "starch": starch-based, starch-branching, starch-crisp, starch-iodide paper, starch-reduced, starch-refined. | |
Ending with "starch": non-starch. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "starch"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | niseshte (Farina), kollaris (clearstarch), koll. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | نشى (entrance, trance), نشاء, قوة (ability, agency, arm, authority, birr, capacity, clout, dint, energy, faculty, force, forcefulness, forcing, hardihood, intension, intensity, iron, leverage, might, operation, potency, power, severity, sinew, solidity, stamina, stoutness, strength, vehemence, vigor, vigour, violence, virility, virtue), التمسك بالرسميات, الترسم, أسلوب متكلف (inflated). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | скорбяла, скованост (awkwardness, inelasticity, numbness, rigidity, stiffness), скован (angular, benumbed, constrained, inelastic, rigid, starchy, stark, stiff), колосвам (clearstarch, stiffen), кола (car, carriage, cart, cartful, drag, machine, motor car, quire, wain, wheels), официалност (circumstance, formality, solemnity, stiffness), нишестен (amylaceous, farinaceous), нишесте. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 澱粉 , 淀粉 (Amylaceous). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | naškrobit (stiffen), škrobit, škrobenost (stiffness), škrob (miser, skinflint). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | stivelse (amylum), slette (plain), gelatinerings/middel, amylum (amylum). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | stijfsel (paste), stijfmiddel, stýfmiddel, zetmeel (amylum, fecula, starch flour), appret, amylum (amylum). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Esperanto | apreturo. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | نشاسته , تشریفات (Ceremonial, Ceremony, Protocol, Ritual, Service), اهارزدن (Size), اهار (Souse). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | tärkkelys. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | amidon, fécule (starch flour), empois, empeser, amidonner. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | stärken (boost, brace, fortes, fortify, grossnesses, improve, increase, invigorate, pander, refresh, reinforce, stiffen, strengthen, to strengthen, vigorousnesses), stärke (amount, badness, body, brightness, force, forte, fortitude, Gage, gauge, heartiness, heaviness, intenseness, intensity, manpower, mightiness, potency, power, powerfulness, robustness, severeness, severity, sinews, size, stiffness, stoutness, strength, strong point, thickness, vigorousness, violence, virulence, wildness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | άμυλο (amyl), κολλαρίζω (size). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | לעמלן, עמילן, וקשות (coarseness, dourness, hardness, inflexibility, intransigence, pedantry, rigidity, roughness, severity, stiffness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | keményítõ, keményít (to harden, to stiffen), feszes (slinky, starched, starchy, stiff, stressful, taut, tense, tight). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | kanji (farina). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | amido (amide, amylum). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 糊付け , 糊 (paste), 澱粉 , スケ番 (bar, energy, free-standing bar, grandstand play, grandstanding, leader of a female gang, road reflector, scoop, scope, scoping, scopophilia, score, scoreboard, scorebook, scorecard, scorer, scoring position, Scotch, Scotch egg, Scotch tape, Scotch terrier, Scotch tweed, Scotch whiskey, Scotland, Scotland Yard, scotophobin, Scott, shovel, Skopolamin, skunk, spade, squall, squawker, stability, stabilizer, staccato, stack, stacking permanent wave, stack-object, stack-pointer, stackware, stadium, stadium jumper, staff, stag film, stag party, stagflation, Stalinism, stamina, stamp, stamp collection, stance, stand, standard, standard number, standards, standby, standby passenger, stand-in, standing start, standing wave, standoff, standpoint, stand-up collar, Stanford, stanza, star, star guide, star king, star player, star sapphire, star system, Star Trek, Star Wars, Star Watching, stardom, stardust, staring lineup, starlet, starlight, Stars and Stripes, start, start dash, start line, starter, starting block, starting member, starting pitcher, static, statistics, statue, Sterling block, Sterling engine, stout, stub, studio, studless tire, study, stuff, stuffed egg, stun, stun gun, stunt car, stunt man, style, style file, stylebook, styling, stylish, stylist, stylus, stymie). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | のりづけ, のり (dried seaweed, laver, law, mood, paste, ride, riding, rule, -seater, spread), で"ぷ", スターチ . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 분. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | starkey, starkaghey (rigor, set, starching, stiffen), stark (inflexible, stiff). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maya | cha'ak. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | archstay goma (eraser, gum), amido (cornflour, farina). (various references) scrobi, scrobealã (blue), formalism (formalism, priggishness), apreta (hot-press, stiffen, surface), amidon (amidin, amidine). (various references) чопорность (offishness, primness, prissiness), крахмальный (starchy), крахмал, накрахмалить. (various references) stuthaig (dress with starch). (various references) skrobni, skrob, usiljen (constrained, forced, mannered, starched, starchy, stiff, strained), štirkati, štirak. (various references) almidón (clearstarch). (various references) stärkelse (fecula, starch flour), stärka (clearstarch, consolidate, fortify, invigorate, strengthen, toughen). (various references) sertlik (asperity, austerity, bitterness, curtness, fierceness, firmness, hardness, harshness, headiness, inclemency, intemperance, kick, pungency, rigidity, rigor, rigour, severity, sharpness, solidity, sternness, stiffness, stoniness, strength, strictness, stringency, tartness, toughness, vehemence, wiriness), resmiyet (ceremony, formality, primness, stiffness), nişasta (amyl, Farina), kolalamak (clearstarch, stiffen), kola (coke, Cola, soda, stiffening), ciddiyet (demureness, devoutness, earnestness, momentousness, sedateness, seriousness, severity, solemnity, staidness). (various references) pet (bravery). (various references) розводити церемонії, церемонність (punctilio), крохмаль, крохмалити (clearstarch), жвавість (agility, alacrity, alertness, animation, liveliness, mercuriality, nimbleness, oomph, quickness, sparkle, tightness, verve, vigor, vigour, vivacity). (various references) sức sống (green, heart-blood, life-breath, soul, vim, vitality), sức mạnh (lustiness, mightiness, pithiness, sinew, strength, vigour, vitality), bột (flour, powder). (various references) starts. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "starch": starched, starches, starchier, starchiest, starchily, starchiness, starchinesses, starching, starchy. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "starch": cornstarch. (additional references) | |
Words containing "starch": cornstarches. (additional references) | |
| |
"Starch" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: saaach, sarch, sarcy, Sarich, satch, Sgairbh, stach, starah, starc, starcch, starchily, starky, startch, stauch, stech, sterk, stiech, stoch, strach, Strakhov, strash, stratch, stuark, Sturch. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "starch" (pronounced stÄ"rkh) |
| 3 | -Ä" r kh | arch, demarche, larch, March, parch. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: charts. | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-h-r-s-t" | |
-1 letter: carts, chars, chart, chats, crash, harts, ratch, scart, tachs, tahrs, trash. | |
-2 letters: acts, arch, arcs, arts, cars, cart, cash, cast, cats, char, chat, hart, hast, hats, rash, rath, rats, scar, scat, shat, star, tach, tahr, tars, tsar. | |
-3 letters: act, arc, ars, art, ash, car, cat, has, hat, rah, ras, rat, sac, sat, sha. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-h-r-s-t" | |
+1 letter: chaster, rachets, ratches, scratch, starchy. | |
+2 letters: actorish, archaist, batchers, brachets, catarrhs, catchers, chanters, chantors, chapters, chariest, chariots, charters, chartist, chatters, cheaters, citharas, cratches, futharcs, haircuts, haricots, hatchers, hatracks, hectares, matchers, patchers, pushcart, rachitis, ratchets, recharts, recheats, scratchy, snatcher, stancher, starched, starches, teachers, theriacs, thoraces, tracheas, trachles, tranches, trochars, watchers, yachters. | |
+3 letters: achromats, acroliths, ahistoric, anarchist, anchorets, anthraces, archaists, archivist, attachers, calthrops, cantharis, catharses, catharsis, cathedras, catheters, chantries, chapiters, charities, charriest, chartists, chastener, chastiser, chaunters, chelators, chlorates, chordates, chromates, coauthors, crapshoot, detachers, ethnarchs, handcarts, hardtacks, heartsick, heptarchs, merchants, orchestra, outcharms, pentarchs, postcrash, pushcarts, rematches, repatches, reteaches, rockshaft, roughcast, scratched, scratcher, scratches, shortcake, snatchers, snatchier, stanchers, starchier, starchily, starching, stauncher, stomacher, tetrarchs, thatchers, theatrics, theocrats, theriacas, thwackers, tracheids, trachomas, trachytes, trauchles, tribrachs, trichinas, trochaics, trochleas, whitracks. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Names: Frequency 10. Names: Company Usage 11. Expressions 12. Expressions: Internet | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Derivations 15. Rhymes 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
