Caked

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /keɪkt/

Definitions

1. Covered with a thick layer, often of dirt or mud, that sticks firmly ; having become solid or hardened due to drying or baking, such as food or soil
2. Having a dense coating attached firmly, commonly referring to grime or a substance that has stuck together ; transformed into a solid mass by exposure to heat or drying processes
3. Holding a thick crust or layer on the surface that is stuck or compacted ; having undergone solidification by heat or dehydration, resulting in a hardened texture

Etymology: The adjective comes from the verb "to cake," which means to form into a hard, compact mass. That verb comes from the noun "cake," borrowed from Old Norse "kaka," a word for a flat, baked bread. The sense of baked and hardened carried over into the verb, so a thing that has caked has gone from loose or wet to firm and solid, just as dough does in an oven. The adjective is simply the past-participle form of that verb, so it describes the result rather than the action. Mud that has dried on a boot, or sugar that has clumped in its bag, is described this way because the material has set into one piece. The grime sense and the baking sense share the same idea of a substance that has hardened into a single crust.

Synonyms: clotted, coagulated, encrusted

Antonyms: liquid, smooth