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Kaolin

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ka⋅o⋅lin

[key-uh-lin]
–noun
a fine white clay used in the manufacture of porcelain.
Also, ka⋅o⋅line.


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


ka⋅o⋅lin⋅ic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ka·o·lin also ka·o·line   (kā'ə-lĭn)   
n.  A fine clay used in ceramics and refractories and as a filler or coating for paper and textiles.

[French, from Chinese (Mandarin) Gāolǐng, a mountain of Jiangxi province.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

kaolin 
"china clay," 1727, from Fr. kaolin (1712), from Chinese Kao-ling, transliteration of the name of a mountain in Jiangxi, China (near which it was originally dug up), from Chinese gao "high" + ling "mountain, hill."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ka·olin
Pronunciation: 'kA-&-l&n
Function: noun
: a fine usually white clay that is used in ceramics and refractories, as a filleror extender, and in medicine especially as an adsorbent in the treatment of diarrhea (as in food poisoning or dysentery)
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

kaolin ka·o·lin (kā'ə-lĭn)
n.
A fine white clay that, when powdered, is used as a demulcent and adsorbent and, in dentistry, as an agent that confers opacity and toughness to porcelain teeth.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

kaolin

soft white clay that is an essential ingredient in the manufacture of china and porcelain and is widely used in the making of paper, rubber, paint, and many other products. Kaolin is named after the hill in China (Kao-ling) from which it was mined for centuries. Samples of kaolin were first sent to Europe by a French Jesuit missionary around 1700 as examples of the materials used by the Chinese in the manufacture of porcelain.

Learn more about kaolin with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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