Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A hydrated sodium borate, Na2B4O7·10H2O, an ore of boron, that is used as a cleaning compound.
- n. An anhydrous sodium borate used in the manufacture of glass and various ceramics.
- n. Cheap merchandise, especially tasteless furnishings: "today's glinty borax” ( New Yorker).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Sodium tetraborate or pyroborate, Na2B4O7 + 10H2O, a salt formed by the union of boracic acid and soda. It is a white crystalline solid, slightly soluble in cold water, having a sweetish alkaline taste. It occurs in nature in solution in the water of lakes in Tibet, Tatary, China, and California, and is obtained from these waters by evaporation and crystallization. The United States is now almost wholly supplied with borax from California. Borax is also prepared artificially from soda and boracic acid. It is much used as a flux in assaying operations, and for cleaning the surfaces of difficultly fusible metals previous to soldering, since when melted it dissolves the metallic oxids which form on their surfaces when heated. It is also used in glass and enamel manufacture; as an antiseptic, particularly in foods, because its action on the system is feeble even in comparatively large doses; and as a detergent. Crude borax is also called
tincal .
Wiktionary
- n. A white or gray/grey crystalline salt, with a slight alkaline taste, used as a flux, in soldering metals, making enamels, fixing colors/colours on porcelain, and as a soap, etc.
- n. chemistry The sodium salt of boric acid, Na2B4O7, either anhydrous or with 5 or 10 molecules of water of crystallisation; sodium tetraborate.
- adj. Cheap or tawdry, referring to furniture or other works of industrial design.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A white or gray crystalline salt, with a slight alkaline taste, used as a flux, in soldering metals, making enamels, fixing colors on porcelain, and as a soap. It occurs native in certain mineral springs, and is made from the boric acid of hot springs in Tuscany. It was originally obtained from a lake in Thibet, and was sent to Europe under the name of
tincal . Borax is a pyroborate or tetraborate of sodium, Na2B4O7.10H2O.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an ore of boron consisting of hydrated sodium borate; used as a flux or cleansing agent
Etymologies
- From Middle English boras, from Anglo-Norman boreis, from Medieval Latin baurach ("borax"), from Arabic بورق (báuraq), from Middle Persian 𐭡𐭥𐭥𐭪 (būrak). Compare Persian بوره (būreh). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Medieval Latin bōrāx, from Arabic būraq, from Middle Persian būrak.Perhaps from the custom of giving away borax soap as a premium for the sale of cheap furniture. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“_fused_ or _dried borax_ may be used, in which case a little more than half the amount of borax indicated will suffice.”
A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.
“Commercially the term borax is sometimes applied to all these materials.”
“Fenton, writing in 1569, says, “There is found in the heads of old and great toads a stone which they call borax or stelon; it is most commonly found in the head of a he-toad.””
“Borax (Borateem) diluted in ½ cup Water (borax is found in the laundry detergent aisle)”
“You have to be very careful with visitors with small children and pets, for borax is toxic.”
“Plain borax dissolved in warm water does wonders for removing stains and odors (including pet smells!) from carpet and upholstery.”
“The commonest flux is simply a pure calcined borax powder, that is, a borax powder that has been heated until practically all the water has been driven off.”
“The natural borates are used in the preparation of borax, which is largely employed as a preservative agent, for fluxing, and for other purposes.”
A Text-book of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.
“He has managed to name borax, fluorides, chromium and iron salts among those found in the wood in higher amounts.”
“Sodium borate, a boric acid salt also known as borax, has many common uses.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘borax’.
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Of Arabic Origin
Arabic loanwords in English are words acquired directly from Arabic or else indirectly by passing from Arabic into other languages and then into English. Most entered one or more of the Romance lan...
admiral, adobe, albatross, alchemy, alcohol, alcove, alembic, alfalfa, algebra, algorism, algorithm, alidade and 181 more...
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In The Colorhouse
A colorhouse - a manufactory of colors for tints, dyes, pigments, paints, glazes, &c. Terms associated with the science and history of colormaking.
All sorts of things went into color...colorhouse, Turkey red, dyebath, woad, ocher, lead white, mordant, Naples yellow, zaffer, kiln, vat, pot and 298 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, B
bloviate, bejesus, brouhaha, behoove, bodacious, bamboozle, banshee, bub, bolus, blob, bubbly, bleb and 414 more...
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potter's delight
kaolin, quartz, cornish stone, feldspar, fluorspar, flint, sand, grog, barytes, bismuth, gypsum, limestone and 27 more...
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persian words in english
words originally derived from persian that have made it to english sometimes with several stops in intermediate languages
balcony, algorithm, arsenic, aubergine, azure, baghdad, beige, bombast, borax, bronze, caftan, calabash and 79 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for borax.
bilby Hey! Idea! How about a list titled "This List Is Boring" that has words starting with bor-? Jul 30, 2008