Starch or a fine sediment found in plants, especially extracted from roots or tubers for food or industrial use.
From Latin 'faecula,' meaning dregs, sediment, or a small portion. The term was adopted into English in the 17th-18th centuries as botanical and chemical knowledge expanded, particularly regarding plant-derived starches.
Fecula is the scientific term for what we'd call 'starch powder,' but it's also a great example of how English absorbed precise Latin terminology for substances that merchants and scientists needed to discuss professionally in trade and research.
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