tragacanth

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

tragacanth
    n 1: a gum used in pharmacy, adhesives, and textile printing

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Tragacanth \Trag"a*canth\, n. [L. tragacanthum tragacanth,
   tragacantha the plant producing tragacanth, Gr. ? ? a he-goat
   + ? a thorn: cf. F. tragacanthe.]
   A kind of gum procured from a spiny leguminous shrub
   ({Astragalus gummifer}) of Western Asia, and other species of
   Astragalus. It comes in hard whitish or yellowish flakes or
   filaments, and is nearly insoluble in water, but slowly
   swells into a mucilaginous mass, which is used as a
   substitute for gum arabic in medicine and the arts. Called
   also {gum tragacanth}.
   [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Dracanth \Dra"canth\, n.
   A kind of gum; -- called also {gum tragacanth}, or
   {tragacanth}. See {Tragacanth}.
   [1913 Webster]