■ noun
1》 a soft, wet, shapeless mass of material.
↘the soft fleshy part of a fruit.
↘a soft wet mass of fibres derived from rags or wood, used in making paper.
2》 [as modifier ] denoting popular or sensational writing that is generally regarded as being of poor quality.
3》 vascular tissue filling the interior cavity and root canals of a tooth.
4》 Mining pulverized ore mixed with water.
■ verb
1》 crush into a ~.
2》 withdraw (a publication) from the market and recycle the paper.
Derivatives
~er noun
~iness noun
~y adjective ( ~ier , ~iest ).
Origin
ME: from L. ~a ; sense 2 is from the printing of such material on cheap paper.