kaolin
/ˈkeɪ.ə.lɪn/
kaolin noun: a fine clay, rich in kaolinite, used in ceramics, papermaking, etc.
Noun
kaolin (countable and uncountable, plural kaolins)
- A fine clay, rich in kaolinite, used in ceramics, papermaking, etc.
- The composition of the Eastern or proper China ware, according to accounts that have great marks of authenticity, is from two earths; one of which is, as was before mentioned, vitrescent, and is called Petunse; the other a refractory or apyrous earth; and called Kaolin.1757, The Handmaid to the Arts, volume 2
- Grind with strong arm, the circling chertz betwixt, / Your pure Ka-o-lins and Pe-tun-tses mixt […].1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation, J. Johnson, page 86
- Synonyms:
- china clay, E559, paper clay, lithomarge, lithomarga, kaoline, kaolinite
kaolin meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Tagalog
kaolin in Tamil
- அலுமினியம் சிலிகேட், கழிச்சல் மருந்து, வெண்களி, வெண்களிமண், கயோலின், வெண் களிமண்
kaolin in Urdu
- چینی مٹی
kaolin in Bengali
- কেওলিন
kaolin in Tagalog
- clay
- kawlin
More languagesFewer languages
- kaolin in Vietnamese
- caolin, cao lanh
Synonyms of kaolin
Forms of kaolin
| plural | kaolins |
|---|---|
| alternative form | kaoline |
Origin of kaolin
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.
Words formed from kaolin
Phrases with kaolin
Questions about kaolin
- What does kaolin mean?
- Kaolin means a fine clay, rich in kaolinite, used in ceramics, papermaking, etc.
- What is kaolin in Tamil?
- Kaolin in Tamil is அலுமினியம் சிலிகேட், கழிச்சல் மருந்து, வெண்களி. See Kaolin meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is kaolin?
- Kaolin is a noun.
- How do you pronounce kaolin?
- Kaolin is pronounced /ˈkeɪ.ə.lɪn/.
- What is the plural of kaolin?
- The plural of kaolin is kaolins.
Words near kaolin in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: kaolin (page history and authors); kaolin (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); kaolin (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); kaolin (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-kaolin.wav.
Cite this entry: “kaolin.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kaolin. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.