albumen
Synonym of egg white the clear fluid part of an egg surrounding the yolk, being mostly…Synonym of egg white (“(uncountable) the clear fluid part of an egg surrounding the yolk, being mostly the protein albumin and water, which turns stiff and white when beaten or cooked; (countable) the white of a particular egg”).
» The cook carefully separated the albumen from the yolk to make meringue.
Meaning
4 senses(countable, uncountable)Synonym of egg white (“(uncountable) the clear fluid part of an egg surrounding the yolk, being mostly the protein albumin and water, which turns stiff and white when beaten or cooked; (countable) the white of a particular egg”).
Coordinate term: yolk
Albumen
the white part of an egg; the nutritive and protective gelatinous substance surrounding the yolk consisting mainly of albumin dissolved in water
(archaic, broadly, uncountable)A colourless, soluble protein found in blood plasma, egg white, etc.; albumin; (countable) chiefly preceded by a descriptive word: one form of such a protein.
(archaic, broadly, uncountable)The endosperm of seeds of most flowering plants, especially when found in mature seeds.
(broadly, obsolete, uncountable)Synonym of blood plasma (“the clear fluid portion of blood in which the blood cells are suspended”).
Examples
3 sentencesThe cook carefully separated the albumen from the yolk to make meringue.
The albumen of an egg surrounds the yolk and provides nutrition for the developing embryo.
The artist used a 19th-century photographic printing process that relied on albumen from eggs.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
Learned borrowing from Late Latin albūmen (“egg white, albumen; type of eye disease”) (wheLearned borrowing from Late Latin albūmen (“egg white, albumen; type of eye disease”) (whence Late Middle English albuminium (“clear fluid in the eyeball between the cornea and lens, aqueous humour”)), from Latin albus (“white”, adjective) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”, adjective)) + -men (suffix forming nouns), modelled after ferrūmen (“cement; glue”).
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Forms
plural: albumens / albuminaSynonyms
6 synonymsWord family
8 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A1Plural nouns — Because its plural is irregular
- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable