Word of the Day for Friday, January 13, 2012
viscid \VIS-id\, adjective:
1. Having a glutinous consistency; sticky; adhesive.
2. Botany. Covered by a sticky substance.
This was the moment for the curious, shading their faces from the fiery glow, to plunge their walking-sticks into the viscid mass and dip out portions of the lava.
-- T. M. Coan, "An Island of Fire," Scribner's Monthly
But now a snake commenced to coil around my feet, and with a momentary terror I rushed forward, only to strike a rock and fall into a viscid pool.
-- Will L. Garver, "Brother of the Third Degree"
Viscid comes from the Latin word for mistletoe, visc. Mistletoe was used to make a sticky paste to trap birds called birdlime. It is clearly also related to the word "viscous."
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