The Collaborative International Dictionary
Ash \Ash\, n., sing. of Ashes.
Note: Ash is rarely used in the singular except in connection with chemical or geological products; as, soda ash, coal which yields a red ash, etc., or as a qualifying or combining word; as, ash bin, ash heap, ash hole, ash pan, ash pit, ash-grey, ash-colored, pearlash, potash.
Bone ash, burnt powered; bone earth.
Volcanic ash. See under Ashes.
Ashes \Ash"es\, n. pl. [OE. asche, aske, AS. asce, [ae]sce, axe; akin to OHG. asca, G. asche, D. asch, Icel. & Sw. aska, Dan. aske, Goth. azgo.]
The earthy or mineral particles of combustible substances remaining after combustion, as of wood or coal.
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Specifically: The remains of the human body when burnt, or when ``returned to dust'' by natural decay.
Their martyred blood and ashes sow.
--Milton.The coffins were broken open. The ashes were scattered to the winds.
--Macaulay. -
The color of ashes; deathlike paleness.
The lip of ashes, and the cheek of flame.
--Byron.In dust and ashes, In sackcloth and ashes, with humble expression of grief or repentance; -- from the method of mourning in Eastern lands.
Volcanic ashes, or Volcanic ash, the loose, earthy matter, or small fragments of stone or lava, ejected by volcanoes.
Wikipedia
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of pulverized rock, minerals and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer to all explosive eruption products (correctly referred to as tephra), including particles larger than 2mm. Volcanic ash is formed during explosive volcanic eruptions when dissolved gases in magma expand and escape violently into the atmosphere. The force of the escaping gas shatters the magma and propels it into the atmosphere where it solidifies into fragments of volcanic rock and glass. Ash is also produced when magma comes into contact with water during phreatomagmatic eruptions, causing the water to explosively flash to steam leading to shattering of magma. Once in the air, ash is transported by wind up to thousands of kilometers away.
Due to its wide dispersal, ash can have a number of impacts on society, including human and animal health, disruption to aviation, disruption to critical infrastructure (e.g., electric power supply systems, telecommunications, water and waste-water networks, transportation), primary industries (e.g., agriculture), buildings and structures.
Usage examples of "volcanic ash".
Gow attack carrier had launched its Dopp fighters, Sha took off in his Zak.
The galvanized roofs of the main buildings bad grown to a dull dark gray from the repeated showers of volcanic ash that Picchu Peak deposited wherever the wind blew.
It was from the ruins of Washington State: steam and smoke and volcanic ash, disfiguring the face of Earth itself.
The land itself had been remolded, laid down as layer upon layer of volcanic ash, interspersed with broad beds of shale and mudstone.
The gelding danced through the shattered villa, where nothing stirred but dust and volcanic ash.
His body, or what's left of it, lies under twenty meters of volcanic ash and lava rock.
The animals had been found buried under volcanic ash up to ten feet deep.
Later Sean had reported more fully to Paul that the old settlement was just so many mounds under a thick carpet of gray volcanic ash.
Although they hadnt been standing on the wharf that long, their wet suits were already gray with volcanic ash.
Indeed, the water has a milky look, probably from suspended volcanic ash.