French chalk
    n 1: a soft white compact talc used to mark cloth or to remove
         grease stains

French \French\ (fr[e^]nch), prop. a. [AS. frencisc, LL.
   franciscus, from L. Francus a Frank: cf. OF. franceis,
   franchois, fran[,c]ois, F. fran[,c]ais. See Frank, a., and
   cf. Frankish.]
   Of or pertaining to France or its inhabitants.
   [1913 Webster]

   French bean (Bot.), the common kidney bean (Phaseolus
      vulgaris).

   French berry (Bot.), the berry of a species of buckthorn
      (Rhamnus catharticus), which affords a saffron, green or
      purple pigment.

   French casement (Arch.) See French window, under
      Window.

   French chalk (Min.), a variety of granular talc; -- used
      for drawing lines on cloth, etc. See under Chalk.

   French cowslip (Bot.) The Primula Auricula. See
      Bear's-ear.

   French fake (Naut.), a mode of coiling a rope by running it
      backward and forward in parallel bends, so that it may run
      freely.

   French honeysuckle (Bot.) a plant of the genus Hedysarum
      (H. coronarium); -- called also garland honeysuckle.
      

   French horn, a metallic wind instrument, consisting of a
      long tube twisted into circular folds and gradually
      expanding from the mouthpiece to the end at which the
      sound issues; -- called in France cor de chasse.

   French leave, an informal, hasty, or secret departure;
      esp., the leaving a place without paying one's debts.

   French pie [French (here used in sense of "foreign") + pie
      a magpie (in allusion to its black and white color)]
      (Zool.), the European great spotted woodpecker (Dryobstes
      major); -- called also wood pie.

   French polish.
   (a) A preparation for the surface of woodwork, consisting of
       gums dissolved in alcohol, either shellac alone, or
       shellac with other gums added.
   (b) The glossy surface produced by the application of the
       above.

   French purple, a dyestuff obtained from lichens and used
      for coloring woolen and silken fabrics, without the aid of
      mordants. --Ure.

   French red rouge.

   French rice, amelcorn.

   French roof (Arch.), a modified form of mansard roof having
      a nearly flat deck for the upper slope.

   French tub, a dyer's mixture of protochloride of tin and
      logwood; -- called also plum tub. --Ure.

   French window. See under Window.
      [1913 Webster]

Chalk \Chalk\ (ch[add]k), n. [AS. cealc lime, from L. calx
   limestone. See Calz, and Cawk.]
   1. (Min.) A soft, earthy substance, of a white, grayish, or
      yellowish white color, consisting of calcium carbonate,
      and having the same composition as common limestone.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Fine Arts) Finely prepared chalk, used as a drawing
      implement; also, by extension, a compound, as of clay and
      black lead, or the like, used in the same manner. See
      Crayon.
      [1913 Webster]

   Black chalk, a mineral of a bluish color, of a slaty
      texture, and soiling the fingers when handled; a variety
      of argillaceous slate.

   By a long chalk, by a long way; by many degrees. [Slang]
      --Lowell.

   Chalk drawing (Fine Arts), a drawing made with crayons. See
      Crayon.

   Chalk formation. See Cretaceous formation, under
      Cretaceous.

   Chalk line, a cord rubbed with chalk, used for making
      straight lines on boards or other material, as a guide in
      cutting or in arranging work.

   Chalk mixture, a preparation of chalk, cinnamon, and sugar
      in gum water, much used in diarrheal affection, esp. of
      infants.

   Chalk period. (Geol.) See Cretaceous period, under
      Cretaceous.

   Chalk pit, a pit in which chalk is dug.

   Drawing chalk. See Crayon, n., 1.

   French chalk, steatite or soapstone, a soft magnesian
      mineral.

   Red chalk, an indurated clayey ocher containing iron, and
      used by painters and artificers; reddle.
      [1913 Webster]