soapstone
[sohp-stohn]
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noun
a massive variety of talc with a soapy or greasy feel, used for hearths, washtubs, tabletops, carved ornaments, etc.
Origin of soapstone
Also called steatite.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for soapstone
Historical Examples of soapstone
I used to make toy rifles and pistols and all sorts of nice playthings out of that soapstone.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former SlavesWork Projects Administration
This was at a place about six feet below the square of soapstone with a hole in it, through which the stovepipe passed.
Cheap candies contain such substances as glue and soapstone.
The Holy EarthL. H. Bailey
The lamp (qudlirn), which is made of soapstone, is a shallow vessel in the shape of a small segment of a circle.
The Central EskimoFranz Boas
They also manufacture various domestic utensils from soapstone, which they sell at a very cheap rate to shopkeepers in the bazar.
Castes and Tribes of Southern IndiaEdgar Thurston
soapstone
noun
Word Origin for soapstone
C17: so called because it has a greasy feel and was sometimes used as soap
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
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
soapstone
[sōp′stōn′]
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.