1. latex(n = noun.substance) - a milky exudate from certain plants that coagulates on exposure to air;
is a kind of exudate, exudation
has particulars: caoutchouc, gum elastic, india rubber, natural rubber, rubber
2. latex(n = noun.artifact) latex paint, rubber-base paint - a water-base paint that has a latex binder;
is a kind of water-base paint
1. A milky or colored juice in certain plants in cavities (called latex cells or latex tubes). It contains the peculiar principles of the plants, whether aromatic, bitter, or acid, and in many instances yields caoutchouc upon coagulation. The lattex of the India rubber plant produces the rubber of commerce on coagulation. [1913 Webster]
2. Any aqueous emulsion of finely divided rubber or plastic particles, especially such an emulsion used as a base for paint; as, a latex paint. [PJC]
latex, n. (pl. latexes or latices)
1 a milky fluid of mixed composition found in various plants and trees, esp. the rubber tree, and used for commercial purposes.
2 a synthetic product resembling this.
Etymology:
L, = liquid
N elasticity, springiness, spring, resilience, renitency, buoyancy, rubber, India rubber, Indian rubber, latex, caoutchouc, whalebone, gum elastic, baleen, natural rubber, neoprene, synthetic rubber, Buna- S, plastic, flexibility, Young's modulus, elastic, flexible, tensile, spring, resilient, renitent, buoyant, ductile, stretchable, extendable, the stress is proportional to the strain.