n.
- a thick, soft, moist substance, typically produced by mixing dry ingredients with a liquid.
▸a savoury spread:
salmon paste.
- a thick, soft, moist adhesive.
- a mixture of kaolin and water of low plasticity, used for making porcelain.
- a hard vitreous composition used in making imitation gems.
v.
- coat or stick with paste.
- Computing insert (a section of text) into a document.
-
[often as noun pasting]
informal beat or defeat severely.
Etymology
ME: from OFr., from late L. pasta ‘medicinal preparation in the shape of a small square’, prob. from Gk pastē, (pl.) pasta ‘barley porridge’, from pastos ‘sprinkled’.