viscid

[ vis-id ]

adjective

1. having a glutinous consistency; sticky; adhesive; viscous.
2. Botany. covered by a sticky substance.

viscid

/ ˈvɪsɪd /

adjective

1. cohesive and sticky; glutinous; viscous
2. (esp of a leaf) covered with a sticky substance

Derived Forms

• ˈviscidly, adverb
• visˈcidity, noun

Other Words From

• vis·cidi·ty viscid·ness noun
• viscid·ly adverb
• non·viscid adjective
• non·viscid·ly adverb
• non·viscid·ness noun
• nonvis·cidi·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of viscid¹

1625–35; < Late Latin viscidus, equivalent to Latin visc ( um ) mistletoe, birdlime made from mistletoe + -idus -id ⁴; viscous

Word History and Origins

Origin of viscid¹

C17: from Late Latin viscidus sticky, from Latin viscum mistletoe or birdlime

Example Sentences

On Friday, Wilkes released an album of his own, “One Theme and Subsequent Improvisation,” which flows from an equally viscid vein.

From New York Times

And when an ingredient does happen to feature that viscid texture, many Japanese cooks like to let it shine, maximizing the sliminess rather than masking it.

From Salon

But he also plays trombone, piano and electronics — and he’s just as interested in exploring slow, viscid harmony, or music that verges on silence.

From New York Times

The band makes a deeply rooted form of experimental jazz, tending toward dark, viscid harmonies and patient escalations.

From New York Times

With a brisk sequence of motions, the machine removes a large panel of bone from the rear of your cranium, before carefully laying its fingers, fine and delicate as a spider’s legs, on the viscid surface of your brain.

From The Guardian