Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A widespread colorless, white, or yellowish mineral, CaSO4·2H2O, used in the manufacture of plaster of Paris, various plaster products, and fertilizers.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Native hydrous sulphate of calcium, a mineral usually of a white color, but also gray, yellow, red, and when impure brown or black. It is soft and easily scratched; the crystalline varieties, called
selenite , are generally perfectly transparent, and cleave readily, yielding thin flexible folia. The crystals are frequently twinned, and often have an arrowhead form. The massive varieties are fibrous (satin-spar), foliated, lamellar-stellate, granular to impalpable. The fine-grained pure white or delicately colored variety is calledalabaster , and is used for ornamental purposes; the impure earthy kind, when reduced to the anhydrous form by heat, is calledplaster of Paris , and is used extensively for making molds, etc. (Seeplaster .) Gypsum ground to a powder is used as a fertilizer.
Wiktionary
- n. A mineral consisting of the hydrated calcium sulphate. When calcined, it forms plaster of Paris.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Min.) A mineral consisting of the hydrous sulphate of lime (calcium). When calcined, it forms plaster of Paris. Selenite is a transparent, crystalline variety; alabaster, a fine, white, massive variety.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a common white or colorless mineral (hydrated calcium sulphate) used to make cements and plasters (especially plaster of Paris)
Etymologies
- Latin gypsum, from Ancient Greek γύψος. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English gipsum, from Latin gypsum, from Greek gupsos, probably of Semitic origin; akin to Arabic jibs, jiṣṣ, jaṣṣ, from Akkadian gaṣṣu. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“In the same manner as sulphur and coal belong to periods of formation very remote from each other, the sal-gem is also found sometimes in transition gypsum, * sometimes in the Alpine limestone, * sometimes in a muriatiferous clay lying on a very recent sandstone, * and lastly, sometimes in a gypsum* posterior to the chalk.”
“For its pale translucence, this form of gypsum is known as selenite, named after Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon.”
Did you know? Chihuahua caves house the world's largest crystals
“Apparently the technique was to encase the body in gypsum so that when it decayed it left a perfect cast of the corpse behind.”
“Thanks for your time! edit: i remember also coming across the word gypsum boards for these? but im not sure if they are gypsum boards”
TALK @ PhilMusic.com - The Online Home of the Pinoy Musician
“The preferred coagulant among major tofu manufacturers is calcium sulfate, aka gypsum, which is the main ingredient in plaster-of-Paris.”
“Builders have been hit by a rash of lawsuits from homeowners, who complain that defective drywall, also known as gypsum board, imported from China during the housing boom is generating sulfurous odors, corrodes metal and, in some case, causes health problems.”
The Wall Street Journal: Wallboard Exporter in Settlement With Beazer Over Costly Repairs
“The defective drywall, also known as gypsum board, was imported from China from about 2004 until 2007 to fill a shortage during the housing boom.”
The Wall Street Journal: Chinese Drywall Maker Says It Is in Talks With Builders
“Chinese-made drywall, also known as gypsum or wallboard, has been under federal investigation because of complaints that the drywall emits sulfide fumes.”
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Says Homes With Chinese Drywall Must Be Gutted
“Calcium-Sulphate, also known as gypsum, has a small solubility tolerance.”
“Drywall, also called gypsum board, is typically made in the United States or imported from Mexico or Canada.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘gypsum’.
-
Loanwords
Since English is littered with loanwords, everything could conceivably end up here. But there is a distinct feeling associated with these.. maybe they're young additions to the English language; I ...
iceberg, fjord, firth, abbey, abyss, anorak, apartheid, assassin, avalanche, avocado, balaclava, banana and 104 more...
-
Beer and Brewing
Words about beer and the making of it.
airlock, bung, carboy, diversol, hops, mashtun, beer, sparge, trub, wort, malt, malt liquor and 184 more...
-
Minerals and Mineralogy
List of minerals, elements, group names and geochemistry terms encountered in the science of mineralogy. I've chosen to avoid capital letters in most examples, though a great many mineral names hon...
galkhaite, xanthoconite, pyrostilpnite, polybasite, pyrargyrite, djurleite, digenite, covellite, chalcocite, cerargirite, acanthite, aeschynite and 2608 more...
-
IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
-
Malachi_Constant's Words
triumverate, pandemic, parsnip, delineate, zamboni, parka, laser, swoop, malevolent, benevolent, fracas, tipsy and 372 more...
-
Sugarbuzz's Words
buzz, widget, haiku, manifesto, warble, supernova, attenuate, mania, diabolical, behemoth, beguile, lascivious and 106 more...
-
Time for a new list!
abrupt, erupt, rupture, sync, appropinquity, heterochromia, homochromatic, monochromatic, willy nilly, nitty gritty, kowtow, wonton and 455 more...
-
Mollusque's miscellany
A mixture of words that I like or have commented on, along with ones parked here so they'd be listed somewhere or remind me of lists I want to make.
oranger, monographer, preoccupied, bu, bobization, coinventor, tetrapyloctomy, borgmannian, suspercollate, manhug, mancrush, obituarist and 604 more...
-
Words Covered in Faery Dust (G)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
gable, gaia, gala, galaxy, gallows, gambol, garden, garland, garnet, gauntlet, gazebo, gazelle and 105 more...
-
Hedgepiglet
Words for things both tangible and nonanthropic
rorqual, vellus, wrasse, rainbow bee-eater, tinkershire, lemonquat, boomslang, tufted vetch, cubeb, nipplefruit, madapple, wad and 447 more...
-
justin's Words
braii, boerewors, lekker, viva, pap, lipodystrophy, lacticacidosis, sharp, chakalaka, defaulter, eish, oof and 256 more...
-
learning
A list of words whose meanings I am learning, either because a) I don't know the meaning b) I know the meaning, but could stand to better appreciate certain inflections or secondary meanings or c) ...
louche, educe, loam, cob, sclerotic, palliate, axial, syndicalist, ecumenical, sally, fatuous, parvenu and 1387 more...
-
favorite words
sawbones, grackle, celadon, brio, loam, trull, mint, saliva, serape, frisson, impasto, reek and 557 more...
-
5-0
Hecko, words! I’m so happy I’ve found you. I want to keep you all and never want to lose you again. I hope you like it here.
amscray, thistledown, tine, tinsel, pungent, snarl, wail, lanky, viscid, dawdle, luminous, stow and 2719 more...
-
Underworld
Don DeLillo
roily, reverie, slidy, bandido, mohair, brilliantine, stupe, juke step, jowly, juke, wicket, quidbit and 391 more...
-
herrherr's list
vicenarian, kretek, portmanteau, neologism, medomalacuphobia, outre, ootheca, cantankerous, cockamamie, poppycock, pshaw, uroboros and 40 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for gypsum.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.