Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A chronic, chiefly tropical disease characterized by diarrhea, emaciation, and anemia, caused by defective absorption of nutrients from the intestinal tract.
  • noun The hole through which molten material is channeled into a mold.
  • noun The waste material filling or protruding from this hole after hardening.
  • noun The usually plastic rod or framework that secures molded objects, such as model parts or game pieces, before their first use.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In casting metal, one of the passages leading from the “skimming-gate” to the mold; also, the metal which fills the sprue or sprue-gate after solidification: same as dead-head, 1 . Also called sprue-gate.
  • noun A piece of metal or wood used by a molder in making the ingate through the sand.
  • noun See sprew.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Strictly, the hole through which melted metal is poured into the gate, and thence into the mold.
  • noun The waste piece of metal cast in this hole; hence, dross.
  • noun (Med.) Same as Sprew.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun founding The hole through which melted metal is poured into the gate, and thence into the mold.
  • noun founding Material that cools in the feed channels to a mold.
  • noun medicine A tropical disease causing a sore throat and tongue, and disturbed digestion; psilosis.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a chronic disorder that occurs in tropical and non-tropical forms and in both children and adults; nutrients are not absorbed; symptoms include foul-smelling diarrhea and emaciation

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Dutch spruw, from Middle Dutch sprouwe.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Perhaps of Scots origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Unknown

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Dutch spruw, sprouw.

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Examples

  • The possibility of controlling the gastro-intestinal symptoms in sprue by the use of parenteral therapy with liver extract has been demonstrated by Castle and Rhoads.

    George R. Minot - Nobel Lecture 1965

  • This problem, which is called protein-losing enteropathy, may be related to a condition known as sprue or “celiac sprue” or inflammatory bowel disease.

    DR. SANJIV CHOPRA’S LIVER BOOK Sanjiv Chopra 2001

  • Cut off the sprue, and file the rough edges so the new piece will stand up.

    SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles - Part 6339 2009

  • The illness that had aged her so rapidly was sprue, a form of tropical anemia that attacks the mucous membranes in the mouth, throat, and digestive tract, making it difficult to swallow or digest food.

    PEARL BUCK IN CHINA Hilary Spurling 2010

  • Nothing worked it would be many years before sprue was first successfully treated with massive doses of vitamin B.

    PEARL BUCK IN CHINA Hilary Spurling 2010

  • There are even some studies that suggest a link between celiac sprue and seizures.

    Promise Me Richard Paul Evans 2010

  • Symptoms of celiac sprue include gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating.

    Promise Me Richard Paul Evans 2010

  • Nothing worked it would be many years before sprue was first successfully treated with massive doses of vitamin B.

    PEARL BUCK IN CHINA Hilary Spurling 2010

  • Tell them that you think it might be celiac sprue and see what they say.

    Promise Me Richard Paul Evans 2010

  • I want you to tell the doctors that you think Charlotte has a disease called celiac sprue.

    Promise Me Richard Paul Evans 2010

Comments

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  • Also, the (usually plastic) rib from which the parts of a model kit must be removed.

    September 21, 2008

  • A word for that? Wow.

    September 21, 2008

  • Thanks, yarb--I'd long ago forgotten that. :-)

    September 21, 2008

  • Is this worse than it sounds?

    September 10, 2009

  • It certainly is. Thanks, bilby.

    September 10, 2009

  • Celiacs United - glad I'm not one of the afflicted.

    September 10, 2009

  • Sprue is also used in silversmithing - similar to the definition given by yarb in the first post in this thread. An artifact of the casting/molding of plastic, glass, or metal.

    September 10, 2009