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The Collaborative International Dictionary
gum tragacanth

Dracanth \Dra"canth\, n. A kind of gum; -- called also gum tragacanth, or tragacanth. See Tragacanth.

gum tragacanth

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.

Usage examples of "gum tragacanth".

Then from the jar he took a box of rock crystal containing a sort of greenish compound which he kneaded into a little gum - gum tragacanth, I afterward learned, - and bade us taste.

Finally I add some gum tragacanth, which closes the wound more rapidly.