Definition

1. Noun:
   • Slate: A fine-grained, metamorphic rock that is typically dark gray to black in color. It splits easily into thin, smooth layers and is commonly used for roofing, flooring, and writing tablets (blackboards).
   • Blackboard slate: A piece of this rock, or a similar material, used historically as a writing surface for chalk.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Mái nhà lợp bằng đá đen trông rất cổ điển. (The roof tiled with slate looks very classic.)
  • Trước đây, học sinh viết bảng bằng phấn trên những tấm đá đen. (In the past, students wrote on blackboards with chalk on slabs of slate.)

Advanced Usage

• The term can sometimes refer specifically to the material's use in construction or as a historical writing tool, emphasizing its functional property rather than just its geological type.

Variants and Related Words

• Đá bảng: An alternative, less common term for slate, directly referencing its use for tablets or boards.
  • Người thợ đang cắt đá bảng để lát sàn. (The craftsman is cutting slate to pave the floor.)

Synonyms

• Slate: The direct and most accurate translation for the rock and its applications.
• Blackboard: Specifically when referring to the writing surface made from this material.

Related Idioms

• : (As hard as slate) – An idiom describing something or someone very rigid, stubborn, or unyielding.
  • Ông ấy có nguyên tắc cứng như đá đen. (His principles are as hard as slate.)