TALC

talc, talcum

(noun) a fine grained mineral having a soft soapy feel and consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate; used in a variety of products including talcum powder

talc

(verb) apply talcum powder to (one’s body)

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

talc (countable and uncountable, plural talcs)

(obsolete) Originally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Mediaeval writers adopted the term from the Arabic.

(obsolete) A microscope slide made of a plate of mica, generally in use from the start of modern microscopy until the early nineteenth century, after which glass slides became the standard medium.

A soft mineral, composed of hydrated magnesium silicate, that has a soapy feel and a greenish, whitish, or grayish color, and usually occurs in foliated masses.

Talcum powder.

Verb

talc (third-person singular simple present talcs, present participle talcing, simple past and past participle talced)

(transitive) To apply talc to.

Anagrams

• CTAL, lact-

Source: Wiktionary

Talc, n. Etym: [F. talc; cf. Sp. & It. talco, LL. talcus; all fr. Ar. talq.] (Min.)

Definition: A soft mineral of a soapy feel and a greenish, whitish, or grayish color, usually occurring in foliated masses. It is hydrous silicate of magnesia. Steatite, or soapstone, is a compact granular variety. Indurated talc, an impure, slaty talc, with a nearly compact texture, and greater hardness than common talc; -- called also talc slate.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition