latex
n. C / Un. a milky white liquid that comes from certain plants, especially rubber trees. It is used to make products like gloves, balloons, and elastic materials.
n. a milky fluid found in many flowering plants, which coagulates on exposure to air; specifically, the sap of the rubber tree used as the raw material for natural rubber. Also refers to synthetic versions used in medical and industrial manufacturing.
The doctor wore latex gloves during the examination.
Many hospitals have switched to non-latex alternatives because some patients have a severe allergy to natural rubber proteins.
The extraction of raw latex involves tapping the bark of the Hevea brasiliensis tree, a process that must be carefully managed to ensure the tree's long-term productivity.
Borrowed from New Latin latex (“clear fluid which is part of a humour or bodily fluid”), a later use of Latin latex (“water; liquid, fluid”). Potentially a borrowing from Ancient Greek λᾰ́τᾰξ (lắtăx, “drop of wine”), reformed by analogy to other nouns in -ex. The semantic shift, however, from drop of wine to water is difficult to explain and may indicate that both words originated from a separate language. Perhaps from the same root as Proto-Celtic latis (Old Irish laith (“liquid, beer”), Welsh llad (“beer”)) or Proto-Germanic ladjō- (Old High German letto (“clay, loam”), Old Norse leðja (“mud, dregs”)) or from a Pre-Greek language.
Uncountable when referring to the material in general; countable when referring to specific chemical types or commercial varieties.