Crossword clues for calamine
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Calamine \Cal"a*mine\ (k[a^]l"[.a]*m[imac]n or -m[i^]n), n. [F. calamine, LL. calamina, fr. L. Cadmia. See Cadmia.] (min.) A mineral, the hydrous silicate of zinc.
Note: The name was formerly applied to both the carbonate and silicate of zinc each of which is valuabic as an ore; but it is now usually restricted to the latter, the former being called smithsonite.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
zinc carbonate; zinc silicate, 1590s, from French calamine, from Old French calemine, chalemine (13c.), from Medieval Latin calamina, corrupted by alchemists from Latin cadmia "zinc ore," from Greek kadmeia (see cadmium). Or possibly the Medieval Latin word is from Latin calamus "reed," in reference to the mineral's shape.
Wiktionary
n. 1 A pale pink powdered form of zinc oxide used in skin lotions 2 The zinc silicate mineral hemimorphite
WordNet
n. a white mineral; a common ore of zinc [syn: hemimorphite]
Wikipedia
Calamine is a historic name for an ore of zinc. The name calamine was derived from lapis calaminaris, a Latin corruption of Greek cadmia (καδμία), the old name for zinc ores in general. The name of the Belgian town of Kelmis, La Calamine in French, which was home to a zinc mine, comes from that. In the 18th and 19th centuries large ore mines could be found near the German village of Breinigerberg.
During the early 19th century it was discovered that what had been thought to be one ore was actually two distinct minerals:
- Zinc carbonate Zn C O or smithsonite and
- Zinc silicate Zn SiO(O H)·HO or hemimorphite.
Although chemically and crystallographically quite distinct, the two minerals exhibit similar massive or botryoidal external form and are not readily distinguished without detailed chemical or physical analysis. The first person to separate the minerals was the British chemist and mineralogist James Smithson in 1803. In the mining industry the term calamine has been historically used to refer to both minerals indiscriminately.
In mineralogy calamine is no longer considered a valid term. It has been replaced by smithsonite and hemimorphite in order to distinguish it from the pinkish mixture of zinc oxide (ZnO) and iron(III) oxide (FeO) used in calamine lotion.
Until the 18th century, calamine was essential for the production of brass since metallic zinc does not exist in nature and no technique was known to produce it. Brass produced using calamine is called calamine brass.
Calamine is either a mixture of zinc oxide (ZnO) with about 0.5% ferric oxide (FeO) or a zinc carbonate compound. It is the main ingredient in calamine lotion and is used as an anti-pruritic (anti-itching agent) to treat conditions such as sunburn, rashes, poison ivy, poison oak, chickenpox, and insect bites and stings. It is also used as a mild antiseptic to prevent infections that can be caused by scratching the affected area, and an astringent to dry weeping or oozing blisters and acne abscesses.
It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system.
Calamine commonly refers to calamine lotion.
Calamine also may refer to:
- Calamine, a pinkish powder used in calamine lotion
- Calamine (mineral), a historic name for an ore of zinc named after the La Calamine mine in Kelmis, Belgium
- Calamine brass, an early method of making brass by reacting copper metal with calamine (zinc) ore
- Calamine, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in Sharp County, Arkansas
- Calamine, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community in Lafayette County, Wisconsin
- Calamine (band), an indie rock band from Massachusetts
- Calamine, a community and former railway terminus in north east Belgium near the mining community of Moresnet.
Usage examples of "calamine".
Then I weighed out another four thousand and told him that I wanted him to buy copper and calamine at the best possible prices.
We could buy copper at half price, along with some calamine, lead, and tin, if we bought his entire stock.
We have long known the Red Lotion of Calamine as discovered in ancient times by the Egyptians, applied to soothe irritations of the skin.
We have seen the application of the oil of vitriol to Calamine yields white vitriol and know how this agent toils against the powers of destruction and rot.
So it may now be told that Zink is the vital essence and fused earth in Calamine ore.
First the Calamine ore must be roasted to remove volatile antagonists.
Patrick was comfortably unaware of the ridiculous figure he presented in the pink pants and matching calamine lotion.
On the way over she stopped at the grocery store and stocked up on 7-Up, Popsicles, and calamine lotion.
She was lying on the couch dabbing calamine lotion on her legs and reading college catalogs.
Luster in a nightshirt, his face unshaven and liberally spotted with calamine lotion.
They had stopped on their midmorning break and she was squatting over her bag, searching for a spare bottle of calamine lotion.
Returning to StregaSchloss with the morning papers and milk, Latch the butler had vanished bearing a bottle of calamine lotion and a wire brush in the hopes of calming down his new crop of midge bites.
But her son had been a man for a long time now, and those days of dabbing mosquito bites with calamine lotion and healing hurts with kisses were gone forever.
Mrs Palk had painted calamine on his sunburned legs, but they were very sore and tender, and although he tried to hide the pain he winced every time he took a step.
The latter mode of origin is suggested by the frequent occurrence of calamine pseudomorphous after calcite, that is, having the form of calcite crystals.