noun
also gel·a·tine ˈjelət ə n, -ətə̇n, -əd.ə̇n, chiefly Brit -əˌtēn or ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈtēn
( -s )
Etymology: French gélatine (originally, a kind of thick broth), from Italian gelatina, from gelato (past participle of gelare to freeze, congeal, from Latin) + -ina (from Latin, feminine of -inus -ine (I)) — more at cold
1. : animal jelly : glutinous material obtained from animal tissues by prolonged boiling ; especially : a colorless to yellowish transparent colloidal protein that is hard and brittle when dry but swells in water, dissolving in hot water and forming a jelly on cooling, that is obtained usually in sheets, flakes, or powder by the partial hydrolysis of collagen from animal skins, tendons, ligaments, and bones by cooking in water, and that is used chiefly as a food, in photography, and in medicine — compare glue 1, isinglass
2.
a. : any of various substances (as agar) resembling gelatin in physical properties
vegetable gelatins
b. : an edible jelly formed with gelatin
c. : any of several jellylike blasting explosives (as blasting gelatin or gelatin dynamite)
d. : a thin colored transparent sheet used over a stage light in order to color it