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lampblack

American  
[lamp-blak] / ˈlæmpˌblæk /

noun

  1. a fine black pigment consisting of almost pure carbon collected as soot from the smoke of burning oil, gas, etc.


lampblack British  
/ ˈlæmpˌblæk /

noun

  1. a finely divided form of almost pure carbon produced by the incomplete combustion of organic compounds, such as natural gas, used in making carbon electrodes and dynamo brushes and as a pigment

"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

Etymology

Origin of lampblack

First recorded in 1590–1600; lamp + black

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Result: Monsanto today makes 14 different raw materials for plastics, leads the world in production of lampblack and elemental phosphorus, turns out some 500 chemicals that other companies use in 20,000 different industrial processes.

From Time Magazine Archive

His chin, belly, groin and legs were daubed with a coating of lampblack and collodion.

From Time Magazine Archive

What weakens the antis' case is that they have not produced clear physical or documentary evidence that any of the glue and lampblack on the Sistine was put there by Michelangelo himself.

From Time Magazine Archive

With an old broom and buckets of refuse oil mixed with lampblack he drew a line 40 ft. wide across a 29-mi. stretch of the lake's surface.

From Time Magazine Archive

The pot of lampblack was right there, untouched in all this time.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

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