caliche

[ kuh-lee-chee ]

/ kəˈli tʃi /

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noun Geology.

a surface deposit consisting of sand or clay impregnated with crystalline salts such as sodium nitrate or sodium chloride.

a zone of calcium carbonate or other carbonates in soils of semiarid regions.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Compare duricrust, hardpan.

Origin of caliche

1855–60; <Spanish: flake of lime, equivalent to cal lime (<Latin calc-;see chalk) + -iche noun suffix

Words nearby caliche

caliber, calibrate, calibration, calibre, calices, caliche, calicle, calico, calicoback, calico bass, calico bug

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use caliche in a sentence

Magnificent language, a luminous, fevered dream of obsessive caliche-hued desert love.
Rick Bass: The Best Books ’Bout Texas|Rick Bass|September 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
All this is the result of digging for caliche, and blasting it out of the sandy bed in which it has lain God only knows how long.
Peru in the Guano Age|Alexander James Duffield
Hence, roads are referred to as clay, gumbo, sandy or caliche roads as local custom may elect.
American Rural Highways|T. R. Agg
The caliche varies in thickness from a few inches to 10 or 12 feet, and rests on a soft stratum of earth called cova.
Manures and the principles of manuring|Charles Morton Aikman

The caliche, or raw nitrate of soda, is not equally distributed over the pampas.
Manures and the principles of manuring|Charles Morton Aikman
The caliche is then separated by means of picks from the overlying costra and carried to the refinery.
Manures and the principles of manuring|Charles Morton Aikman

British Dictionary definitions for caliche

caliche

/ (kæˈliːtʃɪ) /

noun

Also called: calcrete a bed of sand or clay in arid regions cemented by calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, and other soluble minerals

a surface layer of soil encrusted with calcium carbonate, occurring in arid regionsAlso called: duricrust

Word Origin for caliche

C20: from American Spanish, from Latin calx lime

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

Scientific definitions for caliche

caliche

[ kə-lē′chē ]

See hardpan.