fuller's earth

American  

noun

1. an absorbent clay, used especially for removing grease from fabrics, in fulling cloth, as a filter, and as a dusting powder.

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fuller's earth British  

noun

1. a natural absorbent clay used, after heating, for decolorizing oils and fats, fulling cloth, etc

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Etymology

Origin of fuller's earth

First recorded in 1515–25

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fuller's earth

These are intermixed with masses and irregular beds of gray cinders and score, pumice, various kinds of lava, lithomarge, and fuller's earth.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 13, No. 363, March 28, 1829 by Various

If they have acquired a musty scent, take out the heads, and let them be well scrubbed with sand and fuller's earth.

From The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families by Mary Eaton

Of course, the true felting or contraction occurs in the fulling or felting stock, the fabric being perpetually “hammered” in the presence of fulling agents such as soap, fuller’s earth, &c., for a considerable time.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 "Fairbanks, Erastus" to "Fens" by Various

I never could see the difference between fuller's earth and common clay, among them all.

From The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett, Vol. 1 (of 2) 1845-1846 by Robert Browning

Deposits of fuller's earth may occur under the same variety of conditions as deposits of other clays.

From The Economic Aspect of Geology by C. K. (Charles Kenneth) Leith

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