I. ˈpəlp noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle French poulpe, from Latin pulpa solid flesh, pulp
1. : a moist slightly cohering mass consisting of soft undissolved animal or vegetable matter: as
a.
(1) : the soft succulent part of fruit
the pulp of a grape
orange pulp
(2) : the soft pith of various stems
(3) : pulpwood
b. : a soft mass of vegetable matter (as of apples or sugarcane) from which most of the water has been extracted by pressure
c. : a cellulosic material prepared by chemical or mechanical means chiefly from wood but also from rags and other materials and used in making paper and cellulose products (as rayon and cellulose acetate) — compare stock , stuff
d.
(1) : a tissue or part resembling pulp ; especially : dental pulp
(2) : the characteristic somewhat spongy tissue of the spleen
(3) : the fleshy portion of the fingertip
2.
a. : pulverized ore mixed with water so as to resemble mud
b. : dry crushed ore
3.
a. : pulpy condition or character
b. : something in such a condition or having such a character
hammering his face in a way to make pulp — Arthur Morrison
reduced to a shapeless pulp by concussion — Liam O'Flaherty
c. : something without strength or in a condition of fatigue or nervous exhaustion
a life that would have reduced a lesser woman to a pulp — E.A.Weeks
4. : a thick mass of white lead and water that settles to the bottom of a suspension of white lead in water and that when dry is commercial dry white lead
5.
a. : a magazine or book using rough-surfaced paper made of wood pulp and often dealing with sensational material — compare slick
b. : tawdry or sensational writing
other pulps that give the outside world such an odd picture of the American way of life — Joan Comay
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. : to reduce to pulp : cause to appear pulpy
2. : to form (material) into a pulp
3. : to deprive of the pulp
4. : to produce or reproduce (written matter) in pulp form
intransitive verb
: to become pulp or pulpy