albumen

Noun

albumen (countable and uncountable, plural albumens or (chiefly sciences) albumina)

1. 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
   • [A]gglutinants of all kinds were called into use, as tragacanth, gum arabic, and the albumen of eggs; and these were united with astringents, as rhubarb, cinnamon, and lime-water, with or without an anodyne draught at evening as might be thought prudent.1822, John Mason Good, “Species IV. Paruria Mellita. Saccharine Urine. Urine Discharged Freely, for the Most Part Profusely; of a Violet Smell and Sweet Taste; with Great Thirst, and General...

   Synonyms:

   glair, white, egg white

2. (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.
   • The cheeſe, or caſeous part of milk, is formed into a maſs, and ſeparated from the other parts of the liquid, by the action of fire, by the acid fermentation of vvhich milk is liable, and by the intermixture of acids. This matter, vvhen vvell vvaſhed, is vvhite and ſolid, like the albumen of the...1790, [Antoine-François de] Fourcroy, “Of the Milk”, in [William Nicholson], transl., Elements of Natural History and Chemistry. […], volume III, London: […] C[harles] Elliot and T[homas] Kay, […]...
   • […] I was lastly induced to make some similar experiments on albumen; and, as that of the blood is mixed with gelatin, and with the substance called fibrin by the chemists, […] and as it is with some difficulty that the albumen can be exactly separated from these substances, I preferred the albumen...1800 June 12 (date delivered), Charles Hatchett, “Chemical Experiments on Zoophytes; with Some Observations on the Component Parts of Membrane”, in Philosophical Transactions, of the Royal Society of...
3. (archaic, broadly, uncountable) The endosperm of seeds of most flowering plants, especially when found in mature seeds.
   • As all Seeds are ex Ovo [from an egg]; ſo there are many vvith thin Covers, as of Orach, Spinage, Beet, and the reſt of that Tribe, &c. vvhich beſides the Albumen or clear Liquor out of vvhich they are bred; […]1677, Nehemiah Grew, “The Anatomy of Leaves, Flowers, Fruits and Seeds. […] The Fourth Book. Chapter III. Of the Several Covers of Seeds, and of the Vitellum.”, in The Anatomy of Plants. […]...
   • In his [William Griffith's] summary of the novel points of structure, &c., indicated in his paper, he mentions […] 3rd. The confluence of the albumina of several sacks into one albumen.1845, William Wilson, “Researches in Embryology”, in George Luxford, editor, The Phytologist: A Popular Botanical Miscellany, volume II, London: John Van Voorst, […], →OCLC, page 980
4. (broadly, obsolete, uncountable) Synonym of blood plasma (“the clear fluid portion of blood in which the blood cells are suspended”).
   • [W]henever the bloud is quiet or ceaſes from motion, vvhether vvithin or vvithout the body of an Animal, the red and grumoſe part of it ſoon curdles, and is ſeparated from the ſeroſe or albumen; […]1683 March 29 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar), Walter Charleton, “Prælectio I. Of the Circular Motion of the Bloud, and the Admirable Effects thereof.”, in Three Anatomic Lectures, […], London...

   Synonyms:

   blood plasma