Clot

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /klɒt/

Definitions

1. A thick mass formed when blood or another liquid solidifies and coagulates
2. A dense aggregation created when blood or similar substances undergo a process of solidification and coagulation
3. A compact mass that results from the thickening and coagulation of blood or other fluids

Etymology: Old English "clott" meant a lump or mass of something, not specifically blood. The same ancestor gave English "clod", the lump of earth, and "klutz", a clumsy person borrowed from Yiddish, so these three words are close relatives. Each comes from the sense of a heavy, shapeless chunk. The word reached modern English through Middle English "clot" and "clotte", and its blood sense emerged as the lumpy, solidified mass of a coagulated fluid. Its German cousin "Klotz" still means "block," which preserves the older idea of something solid and compact. The verb sense, to form into lumps or to coagulate, developed from the same noun. The word keeps the picture of a substance gathering into a dense mass.

Synonyms: congeal, coagulate, thicken, solidify, curdle

Antonyms: liquefy, dissolve, melt, thin, flow