astringent, a. and n.
(əˈstrɪndʒənt)
[a. F. astringent, ad. L. astringentem, pr. pple. of astringĕre: see astringe and -ent.]
A. adj.
1. Having power to draw together or contract the soft organic tissues; binding, constrictive, styptic.
| 1541 R. Copland Galyen's Terap. 2 H j b, I cal austere..a lytell adstryngent. 1620 Venner Via Recta vii. 146 It is astringent, and therefore effectual to stop the laske. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. ii. ii. §14 Astringent substances act on the skin and on the mucous membranes generally. |
2. fig. Severe, austere, stern.
| 1820 Byron Juan v. clvii, Their chastity..Is not a thing of that astringent quality, Which in the North prevents precocious crimes. |
† 3. Constipated, costive. Obs. Cf. astringency 2.
| 1662 R. Mathew Unl. Alch. §76. 98 There are some such whom it hath purged most of all, which otherwise have been most astringent. |
B. n. An astringent medicine or substance.
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §66 Blood is stanched..by astringents. 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 195 The root of Statice caroliniana is one of the most powerful astringents. |