calamine

[ kal-uh-mahyn, -min ]

/ ˈkæl əˌmaɪn, -mɪn /

Save This Word!

noun

a pink, water-insoluble powder consisting of zinc oxide and about 0.5 percent ferric oxide, used in ointments, lotions, or the like, for the treatment of inflammatory conditions of the skin.

Mineralogy. hemimorphite.

Chiefly British. smithsonite.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of calamine

1595–1605; <Medieval Latin calamīna, unexplained alteration of Latin cadmiacadmium; see -ine¹

Words nearby calamine

calamander, calamari, calamary, calamata olive, Calamian Islands, calamine, calamine brass, calamint, calamite, calamitous, calamity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use calamine in a sentence

Smithsonite is a carbonate much resembling, and often found with, calamine.
The A B C of Mining|Charles A. Bramble
Zinc occurs in nature most commonly as sulphide (blende); it also occurs as carbonate (calamine) and silicate (smithsonite).
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer
In this condition it presents more surface to the action of zinc or calamine, and combines with it more readily.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
It is accompanied by zinc ore (calamine), especially in the upper parts of the mountain.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure

The calamine-and-zinc oxide lotion used in acute eczema is also often extremely valuable.
Essentials of Diseases of the Skin|Henry Weightman Stelwagon

British Dictionary definitions for calamine

calamine

/ (ˈkæləˌmaɪn) /

noun

a pink powder consisting of zinc oxide and ferric oxide, (iron(III) oxide), used medicinally in the form of soothing lotions or ointments

US another name for smithsonite, hemimorphite

Word Origin for calamine

C17: from Old French, from Medieval Latin calamīna, from Latin cadmīa; see cadmium

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

Medical definitions for calamine

calamine

[ kăl′ə-mīn′, -mĭn ]

A pink, odorless, tasteless powder of zinc oxide with a small amount of ferric oxide, dissolved in mineral oils and used in skin lotions.