terra alba

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin terra (“earth”) + alba (“white”), literally meaning "white earth". Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ters-.

Noun

terra alba (uncountable)

1. A white earthy substance consisting of burnt gypsum and aluminium silicate (kaolin), or some similar ingredient, such as magnesia. It is sometimes used to adulterate certain foods, spices, candies, paints, etc.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “terra alba”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)