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clay
The definition of clay is fine-grained soil or water-soaked earth.
(noun)An example of clay is a soft blob of water-soaked earth or fine grain soil that you use when wet and pliable to sculpt a vase, which is then fired under high heat and becomes hard.
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See clay in Webster's New World College Dictionary
noun
- a firm, fine-grained earth, plastic when wet, composed chiefly of hydrous aluminum silicate minerals: it is produced by the chemical decomposition of rocks or the deposit of fine rock particles in water and is used in the manufacture of bricks, pottery, and other ceramics
- soil composed of mineral particles of very small size
- earth, esp. as a symbol of the material of the human body
- the human body
Origin: ME clei < OE clæg < IE base *glei-, to stick together > clammy, Ger klei, mud, L glus, glue
Clay,
Henry 1777-1852; U.S. statesman & orator
See clay in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
- a. A fine-grained, firm earthy material that is plastic when wet and hardens when heated, consisting primarily of hydrated silicates of aluminum and widely used in making bricks, tiles, and pottery.b. A hardening or nonhardening material having a consistency similar to clay and used for modeling.
- Geology A sedimentary material with grains smaller than 0.002 millimeters in diameter.
- Moist sticky earth; mud.
- The human body as opposed to the spirit.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English clei
Origin: , from Old English clǽg
.Related Forms:
- clayˈey (klāˈē), clayˈish adjective
American abolitionist and public official who was minister to Russia (1861-1862 and 1863-1869).
See Muhammad Ali.
, Henry Known as “the Great Compromiser.” 1777-1852.
American politician who pushed the Missouri Compromise through the U.S. House of Representatives (1820) in an effort to reconcile free and slave states.
, Lucius DuBignon 1897-1978.
American army officer who commanded U.S. forces in Germany (1945-1949) and oversaw the Berlin airlift (1948).
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