thixotropy

noun

thix·​ot·​ro·​py thik-ˈsä-trə-pē 

: the property of various gels of becoming fluid when disturbed (as by shaking)

… says that blood liquefaction can be explained in terms of a phenomenon called thixotropy. Certain substances, including some types of mayonnaise, are normally thick gels, but can be liquefied instantly by shaking or stirring.

—The New York Times

thixotropic

ˌthik-sə-ˈtrō-pik  -ˈträ- 

adjective

thixotropic clay

A thixotropic gel is one capable of liquefying when agitated and of resolidifying when allowed to stand.

—Joe Nickell

Examples of thixotropy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The mayonnaises studied showed non-Newtonian, pseudoplastic flow with yield stress and thixotropy. —Ncbi Rofl, Discover Magazine, 14 Apr. 2011

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Tixotropie, from Greek thíxis "act of touching" (from thig-, base of thingánein "to touch, handle" + -sis -sis) + German -o- -o- + -tropie -tropy — more at thigmotropism

Note: The term was introduced by the Hungarian biologist Tibor Péterfi (1883-1953) in Archiv für Entwicklungsmechanik der Organismen, No. 112 (1927), p. 689.

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

thixotropy

noun

thix·​ot·​ro·​py thik-ˈsä-trə-pē 

plural thixotropies

: the property of various gels of becoming fluid when disturbed (as by shaking)

thixotropic

ˌthik-sə-ˈtrō-pik  -ˈträp-ik 

adjective