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amianthus

[am-ee-an-thuh s]
noun Mineralogy.
  1. a fine variety of asbestos, with delicate, flexible filaments.
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Origin of amianthus

1660–70; < Latin amiantus < Greek amíantos, equivalent to a- a-6 + mian- (stem of miaínein to defile, make impure) + -tos verbal adjective suffix
Related formsam·i·an·thine [am-ee-an-thuh n, -thahyn] /ˌæm iˈæn θən, -θaɪn/, adjectiveam·i·an·thoid, am·i·an·thoi·dal, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for amianthus

Historical Examples

  • What store of Amianthus there is in Cyprus; and how they work it?

    Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society - Vol 1 - 1666

    Various

  • The Chinese and the Corsicans blend the fibres of amianthus in their pottery to give it tenacity.

    Medical Essays

    Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

British Dictionary definitions for amianthus

amianthus

noun
  1. any of the fine silky varieties of asbestos
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Derived Formsamianthine, amianthoid or amianthoidal, adjective

Word Origin

C17: from Latin amiantus, from Greek amiantos unsullied, from a- 1 + miainein to pollute
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012