agar-agar
(ˈeɪgɑːrˈeɪgɑː(r))
Also occas. agal-agal.
[Malay.]
Any of certain East-Indian seaweeds, esp. the Ceylon moss Gracilaria lichenoides, from which a gelatinous substance is extracted and used in China for soups and the manufacture of transparent silk and paper, and in bacteriology as a solidifying agent in culture media; also, this substance.
| 1813 W. Milburn Orient. Comm. II. xxiii. 304 Agal Agal is a species of sea-weed, in which some trade is carried on by the Chinese. 1820 J. Crawfurd Ind. Archipelago III. ix. ii. 181 The articles of the return cargo [to China]..embrace..agar-a-gar, or sea-weed, tripang, or sea-slug. 1863 Watts Dict. Chem. I. 61 Agar-agar or Bengal Isinglass. 1886 Crookshank Bacteriology 65 Agar-agar has the advantage of remaining solid up to a temperature of about 45°. 1896 Lancet 28 Mar. 835/2 Löffler's serum agar-agar. 1929 W. Deeping Roper's Row xvi. §1. 169 A culture of germs on a plate of agar-agar. |