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flintlike

 - 3 dictionary results

flint

  [flint]
Use flintlike in a Sentence
–noun
1. a hard stone, a form of silica resembling chalcedony but more opaque, less pure, and less lustrous.
2. a piece of this, esp. as used for striking fire.
3. a chunk of this used as a primitive tool or as the core from which such a tool was struck.
4. something very hard or unyielding.
5. a small piece of metal, usually an iron alloy, used to produce a spark to ignite the fuel in a cigarette lighter.
–verb (used with object)
6. to furnish with flint.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE; c. MD vlint, Dan flint; cf. plinth

Related forms:
flintlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

flint 
O.E. flint "flint, rock," common Gmc. (cf. M.Du. vlint, O.H.G. flins, Dan. flint), from PIE *splind- "to split, cleave," from base *(s)plei- "to splice, split" (cf. Gk. plinthos "brick, tile," O.Ir. slind "brick"). Transferred senses were in O.E. Flintlock as a type of musket-firing mechanism is from 1683. Flinty "hard-hearted" is from 1536.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary
flint   (flĭnt)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A very hard, gray to black variety of chalcedony that makes sparks when it is struck with steel. It breaks with a conchoidal fracture.

  2. The dark gray to black variety of chert.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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