starch

A widely diffused vegetable substance, found in seeds, bulbs and tubers, as extracted (e.g. from potatoes, corn, rice, etc.) in the form of a white, glistening, granular or powdery substance, without taste or smell, and giving a very peculiar creaking sound when rubbed between the fingers. It is used as a food, in the production of commercial grape sugar, for stiffening linen in laundries, in making paste, etc.

Carbohydrates, as with grain and potato based foods.

Any of various starch-like substances used as a laundry stiffener.

Fortitude.

A stiff, formal manner; formality.

Stiff; precise; rigid.

To apply or treat with laundry starch, in order to create a hard, smooth surface.