admixture

Latin admixtūra, from admixtus, past participle of admisceō (“to mix in”), from misceō (“to mix”). Analyzable as ad- +‎ mixture.

• IPA^(key): /ədˈmɪkst͡ʃɚ/, /ædˈmɪkst͡ʃɚ/

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admixture (countable and uncountable, plural admixtures)

1. An instance of admixing, a mixing in of something.

   The admixture of vanilla extract in the dough improved the pastries' flavor.

   • 1951 March, J. H. Lehmann, A. D. Johnson, W. C. Bridges, J. Michel, D. M. Green, “Cardiac Catheterization—A Diagnostic Aid in Congenital Heart Disease”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 3, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 170:

     Gas analysis of blood samples, obtained from different sites in the heart and great vessels, permits demonstration of admixture of oxygenated blood in the venous side or admixture of venous blood in the arterial side of the circulation.

   1. A mixing-in of a biologically or genetically differentiated group to an established stock.
      • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island:

        […] the wood still flourished high and dense, all of fir on the land side, but towards the sea with a large admixture of live oaks.

      • 1928, H. P. Lovecraft, Zealia Bishop, The Curse of Yig:

        Both were lean, raw-boned specimens; the man tall, sandy, and grey-eyed, and the woman short and rather dark, with a black straightness of hair suggesting a slight Indian admixture.

2. A mixture, in some contexts:
   1. (epilepsy) a mixture composed of entities retaining their individual properties.

      Background EEG demonstrates an admixture of theta and delta waves.

• admix (back-formation)

admixtūre

1. vocative masculine singular of admixtūrus