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Glite Dictionary
gum acacia

gum acacia

6.7
A natural sticky substance from acacia trees used to thicken food and medicine
  • noun
  • /ɡʌm əˈkeɪʃə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : goma arábiga
  • Many candy manufacturers use gum acacia to give their products the right texture.

Examples

  • Pharmaceutical syrups often contain gum acacia as a stabilizer.

  • The recipe calls for gum acacia as a thickener.

  • The artist mixed her paints with gum acacia to improve their consistency.

  • I bought some gum acacia for my baking.

  • Many candy manufacturers use gum acacia to give their products the right texture.

  • Pharmaceutical syrups often contain gum acacia as a stabilizer.

  • The recipe calls for gum acacia as a thickener.

Synonyms

gum arabic
vsgum acacia
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A sticky natural substance from the acacia tree used to thicken foods, candies, and medicines

is used for thickening mainly in foods and pharmaceuticals
Senegal gum
vsgum acacia
  • Specialized
9.6

A natural gum from trees called acacia near the Senegal River used to thicken or stabilize food and medicines

is the general natural thickener used in foods and pharmaceuticals rather than industry

Surface Forms

gum acacia singular
gum acacias plural

Morphology

gum + Acacia

The meaning 'a natural gum obtained from acacia trees' is directly derivable from combining 'gum' (a sticky natural substance) with 'acacia' (a genus of trees), i.e. gum that comes from acacia. This product–source composition is a common and predictable lexical pattern across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent words should understand the MWE.

Etymology

Gum acacia comes from the sticky gum that people collect from acacia trees. People long ago used that sticky sap as a 'thickener' and 'stabilizer' in food and medicine, so today gum acacia means the natural thickening gum from acacia trees.