LATEX

noun (plural latices or ~es) Etymology: New Latin latic-, ~, from Latin, fluid Date: 1835 a milky usually white fluid that is produced by cells of various seed plants (as of the milkweed, spurge, and poppy families) and is the source of rubber, gutta-percha, chicle, and balata, a water emulsion of a synthetic rubber or plastic obtained by polymerization and used especially in coatings (as paint) and adhesives