curdle
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
Metathesis of Middle English crudle, from an Old English crudan (“to press, drive”) via crud.
Pronunciation [edit]
Verb [edit]
curdle (third-person singular simple present curdles, present participle curdling, simple past and past participle curdled)
- (transitive, intransitive) To form curds so that it no longer flows smoothly; to cause to form such curds. (usually said of milk)
- Too much lemon will curdle the milk in your tea.
- (transitive, intransitive) To clot or coagulate; to cause to congeal, such as through cold. (metaphorically of blood)
- 1814, Sir Walter Scott, Waverley
- "Vich Ian Vohr," it said, in a voice that made my very blood curdle, "beware of to-morrow!"
- 1814, Sir Walter Scott, Waverley
- (transitive) To cause a liquid to spoil and form clumps so that it no longer flows smoothly
- 1836, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers
- It is enough,' said the agitated Mr. Slurk, pacing to and fro, 'to curdle the ink in one's pen, and induce one to abandon their cause for ever.'
- 1836, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
to form or cause to form curds
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to coagulate
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to cause to form clumps
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