kieselguhr

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

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Borrowed from German Kieselguhr, from Kiesel (pebble, gravel) +‎ Guhr (guhr).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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kieselguhr (countable and uncountable, plural kieselguhrs)

  1. Diatomaceous earth, a kind of soft rock containing the remains of diatoms; it absorbs nitroglycerine and is used to manufacture dynamite.
    • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, “Iceland Spar”, in Against the Day, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 171:
      It was the only name anybody seemed to know him by, “Kieselguhr” being a kind of fine clay, used to soak up nitroglycerine and stabilize it into dynamite.

French

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French Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fr

Noun

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kieselguhr m (plural kieselguhrs)

  1. kieselguhr, diatomaceous earth
    Synonyms: terre d’infusoires, terre diatomée

Further reading

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