n. A natural grease formed from dried perspiration found in the fleece of sheep, formerly used as a source of potash. [French, from Old French, from suer, to sweat, from Latin sūdāre; see sweid- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.