emulsion

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
emulsion /ɪˈmʌlʃ(ə)n/

▶noun

• 1 a fine dispersion of minute droplets of one liquid in another in which it is not soluble or miscible.

  ■ a fine dispersion of one liquid or puréed food substance in another: ravioli with pea and ginger emulsion.

• 2 (also emulsion paint) a type of paint consisting of pigment bound in a synthetic resin which forms an emulsion with water.

• 3 a light-sensitive coating for photographic films and plates, containing crystals of a silver compound dispersed in a medium such as gelatin.

– derivatives
emulsive adjective.

– origin C17 (denoting a milky liquid made by crushing almonds in water): from mod. L. emulsio(n-), from emulgere ‘milk out’.