pumice

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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From Anglo-Norman and Old French pomis (pumice stone), from Latin pūmex (pumice stone). Doublet of pounce.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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pumice (countable and uncountable, plural pumices)

  1. A light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock, formed during explosive volcanic eruptions when liquid lava is ejected into water or air as a froth containing masses of gas bubbles, which are frozen into the rock as the lava solidifies.
    • 1912, Katherine Mansfield, The Woman at the Store, Oxford World's Classics 2002, page 10:
      The wind blew close to the ground - it rooted among the tussock grass - slithered along the road, so that the white pumice dust swirled in our faces - settled and sifted over us and was like a dry-skin itching for growth on our bodies.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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pumice (third-person singular simple present pumices, present participle pumicing, simple past and past participle pumiced)

  1. (transitive) To abrade or roughen with pumice.

See also

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Latin

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Noun

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pūmice

  1. ablative singular of pūmex