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calcareous

[ kal-kair-ee-uhs ]

adjective

  1. of, containing, or like calcium carbonate; chalky:

    calcareous earth.



calcareous

/ kælˈkɛərɪəs /

adjective

  1. of, containing, or resembling calcium carbonate; chalky
“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


calcareous

/ kăl-kârē-əs /

  1. Composed of or containing calcium or calcium carbonate. Calcareous rocks contain as much as 50 percent calcium carbonate.


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Other Words From

  • cal·care·ous·ly adverb
  • cal·care·ous·ness noun
  • noncal·care·ous adjective
  • subcal·care·ous adjective
  • uncal·care·ous adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of calcareous1

1670–80; variant of calcarious < Latin calcārius of lime; calx, -ary ( def )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of calcareous1

C17: from Latin calcārius, from calx lime
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Example Sentences

The rocks of the island are principally calcareous and in a very advanced state of decomposition.

Calcareous incrustations, including fragments of madrepores, and of shells, cemented by splintery carbonate of lime.

Along this road there are extensive tracts of ground covered with calcareous petrifactions.

The summits of the calcareous hills which stretch eastward from the great chain of the Cordillera are broken and rugged.

The tests of other creatures largely calcareous may well have been dissolved before reaching the sea-floor.

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calcaratecalcareous tufa