Adjacent Words

French chalk definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a soft white compact talc used to mark cloth or to remove grease stains

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: circa 1728 a soft white granular variety of steatite used especially for drawing lines on cloth and for removing grease in dry cleaning

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

French French (fr[e^]nch), a. [AS. frencisc, LL. franciscus, from L. Francus a Frank: cf. OF. franceis, franchois, fran[,c]ois, F. fran[,c]ais. See Frank, a., and cf. Frankish.] Of or pertaining to France or its inhabitants. French bean (Bot.), the common kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). French berry (Bot.), the berry of a species of buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus), which affords a saffron, green or purple pigment. French casement (Arch.) See French window, under Window. French chalk (Min.), a variety of granular talc; -- used for drawing lines on cloth, etc. See under Chalk. French cowslip (Bot.) The Primula Auricula. See Bear's-ear. French fake (Naut.), a mode of coiling a rope by running it backward and forward in parallel bends, so that it may run freely. French honeysuckle (Bot.) a plant of the genus Hedysarum (H. coronarium); -- called also garland honeysuckle. French horn, a metallic wind instrument, consisting of a long tube twisted into circular folds and gradually expanding from the mouthpiece to the end at which the sound issues; -- called in France cor de chasse. French leave, an informal, hasty, or secret departure; esp., the leaving a place without paying one's debts. French pie [French (here used in sense of ``foreign'') + pie a magpie (in allusion to its black and white color)] (Zo["o]l.), the European great spotted woodpecker (Dryobstes major); -- called also wood pie. French polish. (a) A preparation for the surface of woodwork, consisting of gums dissolved in alcohol, either shellac alone, or shellac with other gums added. (b) The glossy surface produced by the application of the above. French purple, a dyestuff obtained from lichens and used for coloring woolen and silken fabrics, without the aid of mordants. --Ure. French red rouge. French rice, amelcorn. French roof (Arch.), a modified form of mansard roof having a nearly flat deck for the upper slope. French tub, a dyer's mixture of protochloride of tin and logwood; -- called also plum tub. --Ure. French window. See under Window.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Chalk Chalk, n. [AS. cealc lime, from L. calx limestone. See Calz, and Cawk.] 1. (Min.) A soft, earthy substance, of a white, grayish, or yellowish white color, consisting of calcium carbonate, and having the same composition as common limestone. 2. (Fine Arts) Finely prepared chalk, used as a drawing implement; also, by extension, a compound, as of clay and black lead, or the like, used in the same manner. See Crayon. Black chalk, a mineral of a bluish color, of a slaty texture, and soiling the fingers when handled; a variety of argillaceous slate. By a long chalk, by a long way; by many degrees. [Slang] --Lowell. Chalk drawing (Fine Arts), a drawing made with crayons. See Crayon. Chalk formation. See Cretaceous formation, under Cretaceous. Chalk line, a cord rubbed with chalk, used for making straight lines on boards or other material, as a guide in cutting or in arranging work. Chalk mixture, a preparation of chalk, cinnamon, and sugar in gum water, much used in diarrheal affection, esp. of infants. Chalk period. (Geol.) See Cretaceous period, under Cretaceous. Chalk pit, a pit in which chalk is dug. Drawing chalk. See Crayon, n., 1. French chalk, steatite or soapstone, a soft magnesian mineral. Red chalk, an indurated clayey ocher containing iron, and used by painters and artificers; reddle.