starch, starche

& a. (A weakened form of stark (q. v.), as bench from A. S. benc, arch from Fr. arc, .; Ger. stärke (1) strength, (2) starch, from stark strong.] A. As substantive :" 1. Literally and Technically. (1) Chem.: (C12H20O10)n. Amylum. Fecula. One of the most important and widely diffused substances in the vegetable kingdom, being found in greater or le quantity in almost every plant. To prepare it, the root or seed is finely ground, so as to break the cell-membranes, stirred up with water, and the milky liquid, after pa ing through a fine sieve, allowed to stand for some time, when the starch settles to the bottom of the ve el. It is a glittering white powder, soft to the touch, tastele and insoluble in cold water. Specific gravity, 1505 at 19°. Under the microscope it is found to consist of granules varying in size, according to the plant from which it is obtained, from 002 to 185 millimeter in diameter. The granule consists of a thin envelope or series of envelopes, having the composition of cellulose, and inclosing the true starch matter or granulose. In water heated to more than 40°, the granules swell, burst the integument, and the granulose diffusing through the liquid makes the ma appear like a solution. On cooling, if too much water has not been used, it becomes a trans parent or semi-transparent jelly, and dries to a hard ma . Sulphuric acid and diastase change it into dextrose, maltose, or dextrine, according to the temperature and the agent employed. Heated to 160°, starch is converted into dextrin. The most characteristic reaction for starch is the deep blue color which it gives with iodine. (2) Bot . & Physiol .: Starch is deposited in vegetable cells. Starch grains are stored up as reserve food IMG:content-0200.png:[blocks in formation] starkly II. Art : To stand out with undue prominence. Used of any feature or bit of color in a picture that claims attention when it should subserve the general effect. B. Trans.: To look earnestly or fixedly at; to gaze at with a bold or vacant expre ion; to affect or influence by staring, as to drive away or abash. (Followed by out of .) "A bear as I approached with my present, threw his eyes in my way and stared me out of my resolution."-Add is on: Guardian. For the difference between to stare and to gape , see GAPE. To stare in the face : To be evident before the eyes; to be clear and obvious. ( Lit. & fig .) "This terrible object stares our speculative inquirer in the face."-Bolingbroke: The Occasional Writer.