starch
English · Thesaurus
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starch
- /ˈstɑːt͡ʃ/ UK
- [ˈstɑːt͡ʃ] UK
- /ˈstɑɹt͡ʃ/ US
- [ˈstɑɹt͡ʃ] US
Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)tʃ
Where it comes from
From Middle English starche, sterche, from Old English *stierċe (“stiffness, rigidity, strength”), from Proto-West Germanic *starkī (“stiffness, rigidity, fortitude, strength”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sterg- (“stiff, rigid”).
Cognate with dialectal Dutch sterk (“strong”), Middle Low German sterke (“strength”), German Stärke (“strength", also "starch”), Swedish stärkelse (“starch”), Icelandic sterkja (“starch”). Related to English stark (“stiff, strong, vigorous, powerful”).
noun starches
- A widely diffused vegetable substance, found in seeds, bulbs and tubers, as extracted (e.g. from potatoes, corn, rice, etc.) in the form of a white, glistening, granular or powdery substance, without taste or smell, and giving a very peculiar creaking sound when rubbed between the fingers. It is used as a food, in the production of commercial grape sugar, for stiffening linen in laundries, in making paste, etc. Meronym: saccharide
- Carbohydrates, as with grain and potato based foods.
- A stiff, formal manner; formality. this Professor is to give the society their stiffening, and infuse into their manners that beautiful political starch, which may qualify them for Levées, Conferences, Visits
- Fortitude. The thought of the gun in his back put some starch in him. He needed the handrail, and he limped step by step, but he ascended at his full height.
- Any of various starch-like substances used as a laundry stiffener. You're the starch in my collar / You're the lace in my shoe / You will always be my necessity / I'd be lost without you
verb starches · starching · starched
- To apply or treat with laundry starch, in order to create a hard, smooth surface. She starched her blouses.
adjective
- Stiff; precise; rigid. misrepresenting Sobriety as a Starch and Formal, and Vertue as a Laborious and Slavish thing
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: amylum, potato, arrowroot, amylose, strength, stamina, redundancy, cornstarch, carbohydrate, polysaccharide, amylopectin, dextrin, stiffener, sago, size, tapioca
Translations
Every language
noun substance
| Español | almidón, fécula |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 녹말 nongmal, 전분 jeonbun |
| 日本語 | デンプン denpun, 澱粉 denpun |
| 中文 | 澱粉 /淀粉 diànfěn |
| हिन्दी | स्टार्च sṭārc, कलफ़ kalaf |
| Português | amido, fécula |
| Français | amidon |
| Deutsch | Stärke |
| Italiano | amido |
| Ελληνικά | άμυλο ámylo |
| Română | amidon |
| Русский | крахма́л kraxmál |
| Tiếng Việt | tinh bột |
| العربية | نَشَاء našāʔ |
| עברית | עֲמִילָן amilan |
noun carbohydrates
| Español | almidón, fécula |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 碳水化合物 tànshuǐhuàhéwù |
| Português | amido |
| Français | amidon |
| Deutsch | Stärke |
| Italiano | amido |
| עברית | עֲמִילָן amilan |
noun laundry stiffener
| Español | almidón, fécula |
|---|---|
| Português | goma |
| Français | apprêt, empois, cati |
| Deutsch | Wäschestärke, Wäschesteife |
| Italiano | appretto, amido |
| Русский | крахма́л kraxmál |
verb apply laundry starch
| Español | almidonar |
|---|---|
| Português | engomar |
| Français | amidonner |
| Deutsch | stärken |
| Italiano | inamidare, apprettare |
| Русский | накрахма́ливать nakraxmálivatʹ |
Talk about this word "starch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/starch. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. starch. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/starch "starch." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/starch.Cite this
@misc{starch_2026,
title = {starch},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/starch},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
