I. ˈkäˌlȯid adjective
Etymology: coll- + -oid
: colloidal
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary coll- + -oid; probably originally formed as French colloïde
1.
a. : a substance (as gelatin, albumin, or starch) that, when apparently dissolved in water or other liquid, diffuses not at all or very slowly through a membrane and shows other special properties (as lack of pronounced effect on the freezing point or vapor pressure of the liquid) ; also : any substance (as an aggregate of atoms or molecules), whether a gas, liquid, or solid, in a fine state of subdivision with particles too small to be visible in an ordinary optical microscope that is dispersed in a continuous gaseous, liquid, or solid medium and does not settle or settles very slowly (as the liquid droplets in fog, solid particles in smoke, bubbles in foam, or gold particles in ruby glass)
b. : matter consisting of a colloid and the medium in which it is dispersed : disperse system — compare aerosol , crystalloid , emulsion , gel , micelle , soil colloid , sol , suspension
2. : a gelatinous or mucinous substance found in colloid digeneration and colloid carcinoma
3. : a gelatinous substance in the vesicles in the thyroid gland and occasionally in the interstices between the secreting cells that is thought to be the stored secretion
III. “, kəˈlȯid transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to convert (cellulose nitrate in smokeless powder) into a colloidal state (as by treating with a mixture of ether and alcohol)