Wool \Wool\ (w[oo^]l), n. [OE. wolle, wulle, AS. wull; akin to
D. wol, OHG. wolla, G. wolle, Icel. & Sw. ull, Dan. uld,
Goth, wulla, Lith. vilna, Russ. volna, L. vellus, Skr.
[=u]r[.n][=a] wool, v[.r] to cover. [root]146, 287. Cf.
Flannel, Velvet.]
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1. The soft and curled, or crisped, species of hair which
grows on sheep and some other animals, and which in
fineness sometimes approaches to fur; -- chiefly applied
to the fleecy coat of the sheep, which constitutes a most
essential material of clothing in all cold and temperate
climates.
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Note: Wool consists essentially of keratin.
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2. Short, thick hair, especially when crisped or curled.
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Wool of bat and tongue of dog. --Shak.
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3. (Bot.) A sort of pubescence, or a clothing of dense,
curling hairs on the surface of certain plants.
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Dead pulled wool, wool pulled from a carcass.
Mineral wool. See under Mineral.
Philosopher's wool. (Chem.) See Zinc oxide, under Zinc.
Pulled wool, wool pulled from a pelt, or undressed hide.
Slag wool. Same as Mineral wool, under Mineral.
Wool ball, a ball or mass of wool.
Wool burler, one who removes little burs, knots, or
extraneous matter, from wool, or the surface of woolen
cloth.
Wool comber.
(a) One whose occupation is to comb wool.
(b) A machine for combing wool.
Wool grass (Bot.), a kind of bulrush (Scirpus Eriophorum)
with numerous clustered woolly spikes.
Wool scribbler. See Woolen scribbler, under Woolen, a.
Wool sorter's disease (Med.), a disease, resembling
malignant pustule, occurring among those who handle the
wool of goats and sheep.
Wool staple, a city or town where wool used to be brought
to the king's staple for sale. [Eng.]
Wool stapler.
(a) One who deals in wool.
(b) One who sorts wool according to its staple, or its
adaptation to different manufacturing purposes.
Wool winder, a person employed to wind, or make up, wool
into bundles to be packed for sale.
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Zinc \Zinc\ (z[i^][ng]k), n. [G. zink, probably akin to zinn
tin: cf. F. zinc, from the German. Cf. Tin.] (Chem.)
An abundant element of the magnesium-cadmium group, extracted
principally from the minerals zinc blende, smithsonite,
calamine, and franklinite, as an easily fusible bluish white
metal, which is malleable, especially when heated. It is not
easily oxidized in moist air, and hence is used for sheeting,
coating galvanized iron, etc. It is used in making brass,
britannia, and other alloys, and is also largely consumed in
electric batteries. Symbol Zn. Atomic number 30. Atomic
weight 65.38. [Formerly written also zink.]
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Butter of zinc (Old Chem.), zinc chloride, ZnCl2, a
deliquescent white waxy or oily substance.
Oxide of zinc. (Chem.) See Zinc oxide, below.
Zinc amine (Chem.), a white amorphous substance,
Zn(NH2)2, obtained by the action of ammonia on zinc
ethyl; -- called also zinc amide.
Zinc amyle (Chem.), a colorless, transparent liquid,
composed of zinc and amyle, which, when exposed to the
atmosphere, emits fumes, and absorbs oxygen with rapidity.
Zinc blende [cf. G. zinkblende] (Min.), a native zinc
sulphide. See Blende, n.
(a) .
Zinc bloom [cf. G. zinkblumen flowers of zinc, oxide of
zinc] (Min.), hydrous carbonate of zinc, usually occurring
in white earthy incrustations; -- called also
hydrozincite.
Zinc ethyl (Chem.), a colorless, transparent, poisonous
liquid, composed of zinc and ethyl, which takes fire
spontaneously on exposure to the atmosphere.
Zinc green, a green pigment consisting of zinc and cobalt
oxides; -- called also Rinmann's green.
Zinc methyl (Chem.), a colorless mobile liquid Zn(CH3)2,
produced by the action of methyl iodide on a zinc sodium
alloy. It has a disagreeable odor, and is spontaneously
inflammable in the air. It has been of great importance in
the synthesis of organic compounds, and is the type of a
large series of similar compounds, as zinc ethyl, zinc
amyle, etc.
Zinc oxide (Chem.), the oxide of zinc, ZnO, forming a
light fluffy sublimate when zinc is burned; -- called also
flowers of zinc, philosopher's wool, nihil album,
etc. The impure oxide produced by burning the metal,
roasting its ores, or in melting brass, is called also
pompholyx, and tutty.
Zinc spinel (Min.), a mineral, related to spinel,
consisting essentially of the oxides of zinc and
aluminium; gahnite.
Zinc vitriol (Chem.), zinc sulphate. See White vitriol,
under Vitriol.
Zinc white, a white powder consisting of zinc oxide, used
as a pigment.
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