The substance which constitutes the essential part of the solid framework of plants, of ordinary wood, cotton, linen, paper, etc. It is also found to a slight extent in certain animals, as the tunicates. It is a carbohydrate,
(C6H10O5)n, isomeric with starch, and is convertible into starches and sugars by the action of heat and acids. When pure, it is a white amorphous mass. See
Starch,
Granulose,
Lignin. [
1913 Webster]
"Unsized, well bleached linen paper is merely pure cellulose."
[1913 Webster]