Hypertext Webster Gateway: "mastication"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Mastication \Mas`ti*ca"tion\, n. [L. masticatio: cf. F.
mastication.]
The act or operation of masticating; chewing, as of food.
Mastication is a necessary preparation of solid
aliment, without which there can be no good digestion.
--Arbuthnot.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
mastication
n : biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft
enough to swallow [syn: {chew}, {chewing}]
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