pumice
noun
- volcanic rock made of highly vesicular rough textured volcanic glass
verb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L332630 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈpʌm.ɪs/
noun
Etymology: From Anglo-Norman and Old French pomis (“pumice stone”), from Latin pūmex (“pumice stone”). Doublet of pounce.
- A light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock, formed during explosive volcanic eruptions when liquid lava is ejected into water or air as a froth containing masses of gas bubbles, which are frozen into the rock as the lava solidifies.
“The wind blew close to the ground - it rooted among the tussock grass - slithered along the road, so that the white pumice dust swirled in our faces - settled and sifted over us and was like a dry-skin itching for growth on our bodies.”
verb
Etymology: From Anglo-Norman and Old French pomis (“pumice stone”), from Latin pūmex (“pumice stone”). Doublet of pounce.
- To abrade or roughen with pumice.