glair

See also: g'laïr

English

Alternative forms

• glaire

Etymology

From Middle English glaire, from Old French glaire, from Vulgar Latin *clāria, a substantive use of Latin clārus (“clear”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡlɛə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
• Homophone: glare

Noun

glair (countable and uncountable, plural glairs)

1. Egg white, especially as used in various industrial preparations.
   • 2021, Hana Videen, The Wordhord, Profile Books, published 2022, page 65:

     If you beat an egg white until a froth forms on the surface, the clear liquid below the froth is glair.

2. Any viscous, slimy substance.
   • 1962, The Fishing Gazette, page 276:

     Some rain fell during the past few days but had little effect on the river which remains very low and full of glair.

   • 1974, Guy Davenport, Tatlin!:

     She jacked with authority, knowing how to slick the glair over the glans with her thumb when it began to flow, how to pace a shaftlength voluptuous stroke with a whole slide from meatus to os pubis, how to work with a loving will.

3. A broadsword fixed on a pike; a kind of halberd.

Derived terms

• glaireous

 

Translations

egg-white — see also albumen

• Bulgarian: белтък на яйце m (beltǎk na jajce)
• Czech: bílek (cs) m
• Finnish: munanvalkuainen (fi)
• Ido: albumeno (io)
• Irish: gealacán m
• Russian: бело́к (ru) m (belók)

any viscous, slimy substance

• Finnish: lima (fi)

Verb

glair (third-person singular simple present glairs, present participle glairing, simple past and past participle glaired)

1. To smear with egg-white.

Anagrams

• GRAIL, argil, grail