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TALCUM
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Dictionary entry overview: What does talcum mean?
• TALCUM (noun)
The noun TALCUM has 2 senses:
1. a fine grained mineral having a soft soapy feel and consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate; used in a variety of products including talcum powder
2. a toilet powder made of purified talc and usually scented; absorbs excess moisture
Familiarity information: TALCUM used as a noun is rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
A fine grained mineral having a soft soapy feel and consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate; used in a variety of products including talcum powder
Classified under:
Nouns denoting substances
Synonyms:
talc; talcum
Hypernyms ("talcum" is a kind of...):
mineral (solid homogeneous inorganic substances occurring in nature having a definite chemical composition)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "talcum"):
soap-rock; soaprock; soapstone; steatite (a soft heavy compact variety of talc having a soapy feel; used to make hearths and tabletops and ornaments)
French chalk (a soft white compact talc used to mark cloth or to remove grease stains)
rensselaerite (a kind of soft talc; sometimes used as wood filler)
Holonyms ("talcum" is a substance of...):
talcum; talcum powder (a toilet powder made of purified talc and usually scented; absorbs excess moisture)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A toilet powder made of purified talc and usually scented; absorbs excess moisture
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Synonyms:
talcum; talcum powder
Hypernyms ("talcum" is a kind of...):
bath powder; dusting powder; toilet powder (a fine powder for spreading on the body (as after bathing))
Meronyms (substance of "talcum"):
talc; talcum (a fine grained mineral having a soft soapy feel and consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate; used in a variety of products including talcum powder)
Context examples
As the atmosphere warms, winds generated by larger contrasts in surface temperature at different locations mobilize dust particles the size of individual talcum powder grains.
(Martian Dust Storm Grows Global: Curiosity Captures Photos of Thickening Haze, NASA)
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