kaolin
Plural: kaolins
Noun
- A fine, soft, white clay used in ceramics and paper.
- a fine usually white clay formed by the weathering of aluminous minerals (as feldspar); used in ceramics and as an absorbent and as a filler (e.g., in paper)
- A fine clay, rich in kaolinite, used in ceramics, paper-making, etc.
Examples
- He molded KAOLIN onto a double-letter score, shaping a winning play in Scrabble.
Origin / Etymology
From French kaolin, François Xavier d'Entrecolles's irregular romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 高嶺土 /高岭土 (gāolǐngtǔ, “Gaoling earth”), from 高嶺 /高岭 (Gāolǐng, “High Ridge”), a village in Fuliang County, Jingdezhen Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, that became Jingdezhen's primary source of this kind of clay during the early to mid-Qing dynasty.
Synonyms
china clay, china stone, kaoline, porcelain clay, terra alba, E559, kaolinite, lithomarga, lithomarge, paper clay
Scrabble Score: 10
kaolin: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordkaolin: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
kaolin: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary