pumicate

English

Etymology

From Latin pumicatus, past participle of pumicare (“to pumicate”), from pumex. See pumice.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpjuːmɪkeɪt/

Verb

pumicate (third-person singular simple present pumicates, present participle pumicating, simple past and past participle pumicated)

1. (transitive) To make smooth with pumice.
   • 1925, Émile Zola, Ernest Alfred Vizetelly, Fruitfulness, page 8:

     It was a long, spacious place, where the polishers, in smocks of black serge, sat in double rows pumicating and grinding their pieces at little work-boards.

Derived terms

• expumicate