kaolin

American  

[key-uh-lin] / ˈkeɪ ə lɪn /

Or kaoline

noun

1. a fine white clay used in the manufacture of porcelain.

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kaolin British  

/ ˈkeɪəlɪn /

noun

1. Also called: china clay.   china stone.  a fine white clay used for the manufacture of hard-paste porcelain and bone china and in medicine as a poultice and gastrointestinal absorbent

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Other Word Forms

• kaolinic adjective

Etymology

Origin of kaolin

1720–30; < French < Chinese (Wade-Giles) Kao1ling3, (pinyin) Gāolǐng mountain in Jiangxi province that yielded the first kaolin sent to Europe ( gāo high + lǐng hill)

Example Sentences

Collins, over at Washington State University, has been experimenting with spraying fine-powdered kaolin or bentonite, which are clays, mixed with water onto wine grapes so it absorbs materials that are in smoke.

From Washington Times • Sep. 28, 2023

Wilkinson, Zandberg and others are experimenting with coating compounds such as a clay named kaolin, which essentially coats grapes to help prevent smoke from penetrating the skin.

From Washington Post • Sep. 10, 2021

Packing a wound added pressure that impeded blood flow, and the kaolin in the gauze encouraged clotting.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 1, 2019

When this recipe started to affect her asthma, she developed her own variation using white kaolin clay.

From New York Times • Apr. 18, 2018

In France also early experiments led eventually to the fabrication of porcelain much on the lines of English porcelain, a frit being used instead of kaolin.

From Pottery, for Artists Craftsmen & Teachers by Cox, George J.

Related Words

• brick
• earth
• mud