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• pipe clay
  pipe clay

  noun

  a fine, white clay used for making tobacco pipes, whitening parts of military or other dress, etc.
• pipe-clay
  pipe-clay

  verb (used with object)

  to whiten with pipe clay.

pipe clay

¹ American  

noun

1. a fine, white clay used for making tobacco pipes, whitening parts of military or other dress, etc.

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pipe-clay ² American  

[pahyp-kley] / ˈpaɪpˌkleɪ /

verb (used with object)

1. to whiten with pipe clay.

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Etymology

Origin of pipe clay¹

First recorded in 1750–60

Origin of pipe-clay²

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pipe clay pipe-clay

Generally speaking, kaolin, China clay, ball clay, pipe clay, China stone, felspar, flint, quartz, sand, lime, chalk, and calcined bone are the ingredients of most modern pastes.

From Pottery, for Artists Craftsmen & Teachers by Cox, George J.

To scour your cross belts with fresh pipe clay?

From The Star of Gettysburg A Story of Southern High Tide by Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)

British gum and 4 lbs. pipe clay; adding afterward, 2 oz. nitrate of copper as a deliquescent.

From Scientific American, Volume 17, No. 26 December 28, 1867 A Weekly Journal of Practical Information, Art, Science, Mechanics, Chemistry, and Manufactures. by Various

When well on the feed they will bite, even at the pipe clay and bare hook, faster than they can be hauled inboard.

From A Poor Man's House by Reynolds, Stephen Sydney

Take an ounce of pipe clay that has been ground fine, and mix it with twelve drops of alcohol, and the same quantity of spirits of turpentine.

From The American Housewife Containing the Most Valuable and Original Receipts in all the Various Branches of Cookery; and Written in a Minute and Methodical Manner by Anonymous

A judge can’t be fooled by no pipe-clay.

From The Boy Scout and Other Stories for Boys by Davis, Richard Harding

The white also used for accessories is an earth or clay; in the slip coating of the white ground vases it assumes the consistency of pipe-clay.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various

I took hold of it—there was just enough of it protruding out of the pipe-clay to enable me to get a grasp of it.

From Lost Lenore The Adventures of a Rolling Stone by Beach, Charles A.

“And broken my heart over the pipe-clay, eh, father?” laughed the young man.

From The Sapphire Cross by Fenn, George Manville

The material was a mixture of pipe-clay, sand from Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight, and glass, while the glaze was a fusible English flint-glass rich in lead.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various