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volcanic ash

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volcanic ash

 
Use volcanic ash in a Sentence
–noun Geology.
ash (def. 2).
Origin:
1790–1800

ash

1  [ash]
–noun
1. the powdery residue of matter that remains after burning.
2. Also called volcanic ash. Geology. finely pulverized lava thrown out by a volcano in eruption.
3. a light, silvery-gray color.
4. ashes,
a. deathlike grayness; extreme pallor suggestive of death.
b. ruins, esp. the residue of something destroyed; remains; vestiges: the ashes of their love; the ashes of the past.
c. mortal remains, esp. the physical or corporeal body as liable to decay.
d. anything, as an act, gesture, speech, or feeling, that is symbolic of penance, regret, remorse, or the like.
Origin:
bef. 950; ME a(i)sshe, OE asce, æsce; c. Fris esk, D asch, ON, OHG aska (G Asche), Goth azgo < Gmc *askōn- (with Goth unexplained); akin to L ārēre be dry (see arid ), Tocharian ās- get dry, Skt sa- ashes, Hittite hassi on the hearth; < IE *HaHs-

Related forms:
ash⋅i⋅ness, noun
ashless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

ash  (2)
"tree," O.E. æsc "ash tree," also "spear made of ash wood," from P.Gmc. *askaz, askiz (cf. O.N. askr, O.S. ask, M.Du. esce, Ger. Esche), from PIE base *os- "ash tree" (cf. Arm. haci "ash tree," Alb. ah "beech," Gk. oxya "beech," L. ornus "wild mountain ash," Rus. jasen, Lith. uosis "ash"). Ash the preferred wood for spear-shafs, so O.E. æsc sometimes meant "spear" (cf. æsc-here "company armed with spears").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ash
Pronunciation: 'ash
Function: noun
often attributive 1 : the solid residue left when combustible material is thoroughly burnedor is oxidized by chemical means
2 ashes pl : the remains of the dead human body after cremation or disintegration
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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