▪ I. pumice, n.
(ˈpʌmɪs)
Forms: see below.
[ME. pomis, -ys, a. OF. pomis (a 1250 in Godef.), pumis, ad. late L. pŭmicem, for cl. L. pūmex, -icem, It. pomice; a learned form for the popular F. ponce: see pounce n.2 In 16th c. gradually assimilated (pomis, pomise, pomice, pumice) to the Latin form; under the influence of which some now pronounce (ˈpjuːmɪs). (So in It., Florio has pumice as var. of pomice; Cotgr. pumice as syn. of ponce.) The β forms, pumish (pomege), were perh. due to Ital. influence; but cf. Eng. -ish in verbs for F. -iss. Pumy, pummy, prob. arose out of the reduction of pumis stone to pumi-stone. (The L. word had been taken into OE. in the form pumic; with this the ME. forms had no historical connexion.)]
A. Illustration of Forms.
(α) 5–7 pomys; 5 pomeys, -yce, pumys, -yce; 6 pomis, -aise, -ayse, -ice; pommes, -ice; pumise, -yse, -eise, -eyse; 6–7 pomise, pummise; 7 pumis; 7–9 pummice; 6– pumice.
| 14.. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 606/12 Pumex, pomys. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 408/1 Pomeys, or pomyce, pomex. 1483 Pumys [see β]; Pomyce [see B. 1 b]. 1523 Pommes [see B. 1 c]. 1540 Palsgr. Acolastus S j b, That they be blowen out agayne lyght pomissis. c 1550 Lloyd Treas. Health {fatpara}v, A pumyse made hote. 1552 Huloet, Pomaise for parchment,..lyke a pomayse. 1579 Pommice [see B. 1 c]. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 463 Being more narrowlye examined and vewed, was espyed to be a very pumeyse. 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Esponja, a spunge, a pumise. 1591 Pumice [see B. 1 d]. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 104 A Pummise put in wine. Ibid. 318 White and crumbly like a Pomys. 1615 Pumis [see B. 1 a]. |
(β) 5 pumysch, -e, pomege; 6 poumysshe, pumishe; 6–7 pumish.
| 1422–3 Pumysch [see B. 1 c]. c 1450 Nom. in Wr.-Wülcker 682/29 Hic pumex, pomege. 1483 Cath. Angl. 293/2 A Pumysche (A. Pvmys), pumex. 1530 Palsgr. 257/2 Poumysshe for a scryvenar, pomys. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Latebrosus, A pumish full of little holes. 1658 tr. Porta's Nat. Magic xx. 407 It makes the bread extream dry, and like a pumish. |
(γ) 6 pommie, -y, pummie, pumey, pumi (stone); 6–7 pumie, -y, 7 pummy.
| 1565 Golding Ovid's Met. iii. (1575) 33 b, With flint and Pommy was it wallde by nature halfe about. 1567 Ibid. viii. 105 The walles were made Of Pommy [1593 pummie] hollowed diuersly and ragged Pebble stone. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Mar. 93 Pumie stones I..threwe: but..From bough to bough he lepped light, And oft the pumies latched. 1595 Peele Anglorum Feriæ 26 Thetis in her bower Of pumey and tralucent pebble-stones. |
B. Signification.
1. a. A light kind of lava, usually consisting of obsidian made spongy or porous by the escape of steam or gas during the process of cooling.
| 14.., c 1440 [see A. α]. 1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest A vij b, Of the seconde sort is the Pumeise [printed Pumelse] concrete of froth as Isidore witnesseth. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 242 Much ground about it [ætna] lies waste by meanes of the eiected pumis. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 164 Vast quantities of pumice or scoria of different kinds. 1813 Bakewell Introd. Geol. (1815) 331 The island of Lipari contains a mountain entirely formed of white pumice. 1854 F. C. Bakewell Geol. 86 Pumice is a well known volcanic product of a white colour, and so light that it swims upon water. |
b. With pl. A piece or block of this substance.
| c 1483 Caxton Dialogues 47/21 Goo fecche a pomyce And of the best papier, My penknyf, my sheris. 1501 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. II. 63 For foure pumyses to him,..xij d. c 1550, 1581, 1607 [see A. α]. 1645 Evelyn Diary 7 Feb., In anno 1630, it [Vesuvius] burst out.., throwing out huge stones and fiery pumices. 1779 Hamilton in Phil. Trans. LXX. 82 This curious substance has the lightness of a pumice. |
c. As a material used for smoothing or polishing (parchment, etc.), or removing stains; as an absorbent of ink, moisture, etc.; as proverbial for its dryness.
| [a 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 100 Of felle ascafen mid pumice.] 1422–3 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 619 Et in incausto, pumysch, cera rubea, empt. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §142 Penne, paper, ynke, parchment,..pommes,..thou remembre. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 58 The greatest blot is taken off with the Pommice. 1580 Ibid. 374 If thou attempt againe to wring water out of the Pommice. 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. v. iv, Could the pummise but hold vp his eyes at other mens happines. 1665 South Serm., John i. 11 (1718) III. 305 To oppress, beggar, and squeeze them as dry as a pumice. 1849 R. V. Dixon Heat i. 207 A U-shaped tube filled with sulphuric pumice..to prevent the vapour of the water in the aspirator reaching the desiccating tubes b and c. 1862 Merivale Rom. Emp. VI. liv. 229 note, A copy of one book..of Martial,..smoothed with pumice, and elegantly bound, was sold for 3s. 4d. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus i. 2 The new, the dainty volume,..fresh with ashy pumice. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. xii. (ed. 2) 193 The stone largely used for scouring paint under the name of pumice. |
† d. fig. or allusively, esp. in reference to its qualities in c. Obs.
| 1591 Greene Farew. to Folly, Fr. Dante, The pumice that defaceth memory,..Is but a stomach overcharged with meats. 1638 Cowley Loves Riddle iii. i, For I have Eyes of Pumice. a 1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary v. iii, I cannot weep, mine eyes are pumice. a 1658 Cleveland On Rom. iv. 25 Wks. (1677) 166 Marble can weep, whilest we are Pumices. |
2. a. attrib. Consisting of or resembling pumice; † pumice hoof, a ‘pumiced’ hoof: see pumiced 2. b. Comb., as pumice-like adj., pumice-stone, q.v.
| 1592 R. D. Hypnerotomachia 20 b, The two..pillars of Porphyre..of a pumish or tawnie colour. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia v. 169 A kinde of white hard substance..pumish⁓like and spungy. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 89/1 Terms used..as to Horse-Shooing... Pomise, or Flat Hoofe. 1811 Pinkerton Mod. Geogr., Bahama (ed. 3) 665 The pumice lands soon imbibe the rain. 1845 Darwin Voy. Nat. iv. (1879) 63 A firmly-cemented conglomerate of pumice pebbles. 1891 R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. xv. 229 Pumice-topped land..covers unfortunately about thirty per cent. of the area of the North Island. 1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Jan. 17/3 In the north and north-west, where annual rainfall is over 50 in., the soils are classified as yellow brown pumice soils. They are light, fluffy pumice soils formed on volcanic ash. Ibid. Feb. 115/2 In its natural state the open pumice country, clothed in a tangled mass of manuha and manoao..looks barren and unattractive. Ibid., The pumice lands of the central plateau area of the North Island consists of soils derived from volcanic-ash showers. 1965 S. T. Ollivier Petticoat Farm i. 1 Harry stood at the roadside and watched the white pumice dust rising between the bracken at each side of the road. |
▪ II. pumice, v.
(ˈpʌmɪs)
Forms: see prec.
[f. prec. n.: cf. L. pūmicāre to smooth with pumice-stone, F. poncer pounce v.3]
trans. To rub with pumice; to smooth, polish, trim, or clean by rubbing with pumice.
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 293/2 To Pumysche (A. Pumyce), pumicare. 1552 Huloet, Pomaisen or trimme parchment, pumico. 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Esponjar, to sponge, to pumise. 1610 W. Folkingham Art of Survey ii. vi. 58 Pounded Rossin both finely searced and lightly pummiced. 1647 R. Stapylton Juvenal, Sat. viii. 154 note, The Italians to this day have the fashion of pumicing their skin to get off the haire. 1797 Trans. Soc. Arts XV. 250 When dry to be pumiced over, so as to make the whole perfectly dry and smooth. 1873 E. Spon Workshop Receipts Ser. i. 393/2 The slab is then pumiced to reduce it to a level surface. |
Hence ˈpumicing vbl. n. (also attrib.).
| 1552 Huloet, Pomaysynge or trymmynge wyth pomaise, pumigatio. 1852 C. Morfit Tanning & Currying (1853) 438 The leather..passes under the pumicing cylinders. |