fondant Sweet creamy sugar paste used in candies and icings. Candy containing this paste. fontanelles The soft membranous gaps between the incompletely formed cranial bones of a fetus or an infant. Also called soft spot. formaldehyde Colorless gaseous compound, HCHO, used to manufacture resins, fertilizers, dyes, and embalming fluids and in aqueous solution as a preservative and disinfectant. formalin Aqueous solution of formaldehyde that is 37 percent by weight. fossa A small depression, as in a bone. foulard Lightweight twill or plain-woven fabric of silk or silk and cotton, often having a small printed design. Necktie or scarf, made of this fabric. Fowler's solution Solution of arsenite of potassium in water; named for Fowler, an English physician who brought it into use. frock coat Man's dress coat or suit coat with knee-length skirts. fuller's earth Highly adsorbent (attaches to other substances without any chemical action) clay-like substance consisting of hydrated aluminum silicates; used in talcum powders. fly blister Blister caused by the vesicating (blistering) body fluid of certain beetles. fusiform Tapered at each end; spindle-shaped. galatea Durable, often striped cotton fabric used in making clothing. galax (beetleweed, coltsfoot, wandflower) Stemless evergreen perennial plant (Galax urceolata) of the eastern US, with a rosette of glossy, heart-shaped leaves and small white flowers in spike-like clusters. gallic acid Colorless crystalline compound, C7H6O5, derived from tannin used as a tanning agent, ink dye, in photography, and paper manufacturing. gamboge Brownish or orange resin from trees of the genus Garcinia of south-central Asia and yielding a golden-yellow pigment. gaucherie Awkward or tactless act, manner, or expression. gelsemium Genus of climbing plants. The yellow (false) jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens) is a native of the Southern United States; the root is used for malarial fevers. gentian Plants of the genus Gentiana, having showy, variously colored flowers. The dried rhizome and roots of a yellow-flowered European gentian, G. lutea, used as a tonic. germander Aromatic plants of the genus Teucrium, with purplish or reddish flowers. gingham Yarn-dyed cotton fabric woven in stripes, checks, plaids, or solid colors. glace Smooth, glazed or glossy surface, such as certain silks or leathers. Coated with a sugar glaze; candied. glairy Slimy consistency, like egg white; cough producing glairy sputum. glanders Contagious, usually fatal disease of horses, caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas mallei; causes swollen lymph nodes, nasal discharge, and ulcers of the respiratory tract and skin. Communicable to other mammals, including humans. glaubers salts (Na2SO4.10H2O); colorless salt used as a cathartic.