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starch (v.)

late 14c., from Old English *stercan (Mercian), *stiercan (West Saxon) "make rigid," found in stercedferhð "fixed, hard, resolute" (related to stearc "stiff"), from Proto-Germanic *starkjan "to make hard" (source also of German Stärke "strength, starch," Swedish stärka "to starch"), from PIE root *ster- (1) "stiff." Related: Starched; starching.

starch (n.)

"pasty substance used to stiffen cloth," mid-15c., back-formation from starch (v.). Figurative sense of "stiffness of manner" is recorded from 1705.

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Definitions of starch from WordNet
1
starch (n.)
a complex carbohydrate found chiefly in seeds, fruits, tubers, roots and stem pith of plants, notably in corn, potatoes, wheat, and rice; an important foodstuff and used otherwise especially in adhesives and as fillers and stiffeners for paper and textiles;
Synonyms: amylum
starch (n.)
a commercial preparation of starch that is used to stiffen textile fabrics in laundering;
2
starch (v.)
stiffen with starch;
starch clothes
From wordnet.princeton.edu