Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of a group of micaceous hydrated silicate minerals related to the chlorites and used in heat-expanded form as insulation and as a planting medium.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In mineralogy, one of a group of hydrous silicates having a micaceous structure, and in most cases derived from the common micas by alteration. When heated nearly to redness they exfoliate largely, and some kinds project out with a vermicular motion, as if they were a mass of small worms (whence the name).
Wiktionary
- n. mineralogy A hydrated silicate mineral which expands on heating; it is used in insulation and as a medium for planting
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Min.) A group of minerals having, a micaceous structure. They are hydrous silicates, derived generally from the alteration of some kind of mica. So called because the scales, when heated, open out into wormlike forms.
WordNet 3.0
- n. any of a group of yellow or brown hydrous silicate minerals having a micaceous structure
Etymologies
- Latin vermiculus, wormlet for its fibrous nature and tendency to expand into worm-like shapes when heated (Wiktionary)
- Latin vermiculus, diminutive of vermis, worm; see vermicular + -ite1. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The name vermiculite was created from the Latin word for worm, vermiculus.”
“This year it is to be micro-plants, grown in vermiculite.”
“I need some stuff called vermiculite to condition the soil so that the roots grow well.”
“Some lightweight mineral and rock materials, such as vermiculite, diatomite and perlite are similar to micas and can be used in place of mica.”
“If seeds must be shipped over long distances, it may be possible to prolong viability somewhat by packing them in a moist, well-aerated medium, such as vermiculite or sawdust, in a perforated plastic bag inside an air-porous bag.”
“A: Most potting soil or seed-starting media that you purchase in a garden center is pasteurized and contains inert material, such as vermiculite or perlite, which is sterile.”
“Instead of tilling the dirt and pumping in fertilizer, you build a big box, put a liner on the bottom, and fill it with a mixture of peat moss, vermiculite and compost.”
“As for the interior finishing touch and for adding surface strength, synthetic resin with vermiculite material sprayed directly on the urethane form surface was the choice.”
“Repotting, we tore the roots apart, vermiculite clinging like hatchlings of silverfish to its tendrils.”
“About half the material was "non-fibrous" including polystyrene foam, vermiculite mineral, combustion product carbon soot, mineral dust of gypsum, calcite, dolomite and quartz.”
The Huffington Post: September 11 Toxic Dust: Deciphering My Pocketful Of Terror
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘vermiculite’.
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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...
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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...
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Words next
patrimony, cacophony, fearsome, coruscating, coruscating, coruscating, dolomite, dolorous, transdermal, chatty cathy, chatterbox, incessantly and 249 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, V
vespertine, vacuous, versipellous, valve, vatic, virogene, vigneron, vincular, verticil, vespiary, vermiculite, velamen and 128 more...
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A few of my favorite definitions from...
I'm especially fond of ones written by Charles Sanders Peirce.
theodolite, illusion, buckie, frank, abstract-concrete, semidiagrammatic, object-object, vortex-filament, dod, parrock, cobler, weather-box and 354 more...
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