soap-rock Min.
[soap n.]
Steatite; magnesian clay.
| 1746 Hill Theophr. (1774) 242 The Steatites of the Soap Rock of Cornwall. 1758 Borlase Nat. Hist. Cornw. 66 The most curious of all our clays in Cornwall, is the steatites near the Lizherd, generally called the Soap-rock. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 465 Steatites, or soap-rock, is generally of a greenish colour. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 456 The magnesia has obtained the name of soap-rock, and a marked variety of it steatite. |