infusorial

[in-fyoo-sawr-ee-uhl, -sohr-]

adjective

1. pertaining to, containing, or consisting of infusorians.

   infusorial earth.

Word History and Origins

Origin of infusorial¹

First recorded in 1840–50; Infusori(a) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

We came up the walk, between the slow, thought-brewing, beat-up old heads, liver-spotted, of choked old blood salts and wastes, hard and bone-bare domes, or swollen, the elevens of sinews up on collarless necks crazy with the assaults of Kansas heats and Wyoming freezes, and with the strains of kitchen toil, Far West digging, Cincinnati retailing, Omaha slaughtering, peddling, harvesting, laborious or pegging enterprise from whale-sized to infusorial that collect into the labor of the nation.

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Infusō′rian.—Infusorial earth, a siliceous deposit formed chiefly of the frustates of Diatoms—used as Tripoli powder for polishing purposes.

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In the manufacture of the explosive known as dynamite, an infusorial earth is used, which is filled with or made to absorb nitroglycerin.

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As compared with certain kinds of charcoal, however, the absorptive and retentive power of infusorial earth in small changes of temperature unfavorably affect the common dynamite, and cause a separation of the nitrogylcerin from the infusorial earth.

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Such researches might unfold some unexpected laws in the succession of infusorial life.

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