bone ash

American  

noun

1. a white ash obtained by calcining bones, used as a fertilizer and in the making of bone china.

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bone ash British  

noun

1. the residue obtained when bones are burned in air, consisting mainly of calcium phosphate. It is used as a fertilizer and in the manufacture of bone china

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Etymology

Origin of bone ash

First recorded in 1615–25

Example Sentences

The new law will put an end to "bone ash apartments", which have risen in popularity as spaces in cemeteries remain scarce.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

And speaking of bone, the English refined traditional porcelain by using crushed bone or bone ash in the clay mix for a whiter, brighter finish that we know as “bone china.”

From Seattle Times • Aug. 5, 2023

The railways transported thousands of tons of bones to the Michigan Carbon Works, in Detroit, which produced four thousand tons of bone ash and five thousand tons of bone black in one year.

From The New Yorker • May 13, 2016

Oxide of tin also renders glass white and opaque, and a certain quantity of bone ash will produce a similar effect, though not in so satisfactory a manner.

From British Manufacturing Industries Pottery, Glass and Silicates, Furniture and Woodwork. by Arnoux, L.

Phosphorus is now manufactured from bone ash or a pure mineral phosphate by heating the phosphate with sand and carbon in an electric furnace.

From An Elementary Study of Chemistry by McPherson, William