Gluten

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɡluːtÉ™n/
• Rhymes: -uːtÉ™n

Origin

From French gluten, borrowed from Latin glūten ("glue").

Full definition of gluten

Noun

1. (obsolete) Fibrin (formerly considered as one of the "animal humours"). 16th-19th c.
• 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, Book I, New York 2001, p. 147:The radical or innate is daily supplied by nourishment, which some call cambium, and make those secondary humours of ros and gluten to maintain it ....
2. The major protein in cereal grains, especially wheat; responsible for the elasticity in dough and the structure in baked bread. from 19th c.
• 2010, Felicity Cloake, Word of Mouth Blog, The Guardian, 10 Jun 2010:Unfortunately, wholemeal bread is, according to many experts, a tricky thing to get right, as the lower gluten content of the flour makes for dense results ....
3. (rare, geology) A gluey, sticky mass of clay, bitumen etc. from 19th c.
• 1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford 2004, p. 669:Despite constant rain that turned roads to gluten, the Yankees kept moving.

Derived terms

• gluten bread
• gluten casein
• gluten fibrin
• gluten-free
• glutinous

Anagrams

• englut