n. & v.
--n.
1. an odourless tasteless polysaccharide occurring widely in plants and obtained chiefly from cereals and potatoes, forming an important constitutent of the human diet.
2 a preparation of this for stiffening fabric before ironing.
3 stiffness of manner; formality.
--v.tr. stiffen (clothing) with starch.
Phrases and idioms:
starch-reduced (esp. of food) containing less than the normal proportion of starch.
Derivatives:
starcher n.
Etymology: earlier as verb: ME sterche f. OE stercan (unrecorded) stiffen f. Gmc: cf. STARK