asbestos

or as·bes·tus

[as-bes-tuh s, az-]

noun

Mineralogy. a fibrous mineral, either amphibole or chrysotile, formerly used for making incombustible or fireproof articles.

a fabric woven from asbestos fibers, formerly used for theater curtains, firefighters' gloves, etc.

Theater. a fireproof curtain.

Origin of asbestos

1350–1400; < Latin < Greek: literally, unquenched, equivalent to a- a-⁶ + sbestós (sbes- variant stem of sbennýnai to quench + -tos past participle suffix); replacing Middle English asbeston, albeston < Middle French < Latin

Related formsas·bes·tine

[as-bes-tin, az-] /æsˈbɛs tɪn, æz-/, as·bes·tous, adjectiveas·bes·toid, as·bes·toi·dal, adjectivenon·as·bes·tine, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for asbestus

Historical Examples of asbestus

It consisted of a tube, containing at one end a plug of asbestus, moistened with a solution of iodide of potassium and starch.
The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, Vol. XLIX
Various
There was a city of the same name in Eubœa, expressed Carystus, where the stone Asbestus was found.
A New System; or, an Analysis of Antient Mythology. Volume I.
Jacob Bryant
The Asbestus, a mineral substance of a whitish or silver color.
A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery
Benziger Brothers
Stones also differ in their weight or gravity: for instance, some of the asbestus kind are lighter than water.
A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery
Benziger Brothers

British Dictionary definitions for asbestus

asbestos

noun

any of the fibrous amphibole and serpentine minerals, esp chrysotile and tremolite, that are incombustible and resistant to chemicals. It was formerly widely used in the form of fabric or board as a heat-resistant structural material
(as modifier)asbestos matting

Derived Formsasbestine, adjective

Word Origin for asbestos

C14 (originally applied to a mythical stone the heat of which could not be extinguished): via Latin from Greek: from asbestos inextinguishable, from a- 1 + sbennunai to extinguish

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

Word Origin and History for asbestus

asbestos

1650s, earlier albeston, abestus (c.1100), name of a fabulous stone, which, set afire, could not be extinguished; from Old French abeste, abestos, from Latin asbestos "quicklime" (which "burns" when cold water is poured on it), from Greek asbestos, literally "inextinguishable," from a- "not" (see a- (3)) + sbestos, verbal adjective from sbennynai "to quench," from PIE root *(s)gwes- "to quench, extinguish" (cf. Lithuanian gestu "to go out," Old Church Slavonic gaso, Hittite kishtari "is being put out").

The Greek word was used by Dioscorides as a noun meaning "quicklime." "Erroneously applied by Pliny to an incombustible fibre, which he believed to be vegetable, but which was really the amiantos of the Greeks" [OED]. Meaning "mineral capable of being woven into incombustible fabric" is from c.1600 in English; earlier this was called amiant (early 15c.), from Latin amiantus, from Greek amiantos, literally "undefiled" (so called because it showed no mark or stain when thrown into fire). Supposed in the Middle Ages to be salamanders' wool. Prester John, the Emperor of India, and Pope Alexander III were said to have had robes or tunics made of it.

Medicine definitions for asbestus

asbestos

[ăs-bĕs′təs, ăz-]

n.

Either of two incombustible, chemical-resistant, fibrous mineral forms of impure magnesium silicate, formerly used for fireproofing, electrical insulation, brake linings, and chemical filters but now banned because it causes pleural mesothelioma and asbestosis.

adj.

Of, made of, or containing one or the other of these two mineral forms.

Science definitions for asbestus

asbestos

[ăs-bĕs′təs]

Any of several fibrous mineral forms of magnesium silicate. Asbestos is resistant to heat, flames, and chemical action. Some forms have been shown to cause lung diseases. For this reason, asbestos is no longer used to make insulation, fireproofing material, and brake linings.