starch

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
starch/stɑːtʃ/

▶noun

• 1 an odourless, tasteless carbohydrate which is obtained chiefly from cereals and potatoes and is an important constituent of the human diet.

• 2 powder or spray made from this substance, used to stiffen fabric.

• 3 stiffness of manner.

▶verb

• 1 stiffen with starch.

• 2 N. Amer. informal (of a boxer) defeat by a knockout.

– derivatives
starcher noun,
starchily adverb,
starchiness noun,
starchy adjective (starchier, starchiest).

– origin OE (recorded only in the past part. sterced ‘stiffened’), of Gmc origin; rel. to stark.