A transparent or glossy coating made from starch and water, used historically to stiffen and finish fine fabrics and textiles.
Compound of 'clear' plus 'starch' (Middle Dutch sterke). A specialized technical term from textile and laundry work dating to the 1600s-1800s when fabric finishing was a major craft.
Victorians were obsessed with starch—'clearstarch' created that crisp, glossy finish on fine linens and collars that signaled wealth and leisure (only the rich could afford the labor-intensive starching process).
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