pipe-stone
Definition
Noun: - A type of hard, red clay: "pipe-stone" refers to a specific kind of dense, reddish clay historically used by Indigenous peoples of North America to carve tobacco pipes. It is also known as catlinite.
Usage Examples
- (A hard, red clay used for making tobacco pipes.)
- (The material's desirable qualities for carving.)
Advanced Usage
- "pipe-stone quarry": a location where this clay is mined.
- The pipestone quarry in Minnesota is a sacred site to many Native American tribes. (A specific place where pipe-stone is extracted.)
Variants and Related Words
- Pipestone (n): an alternative spelling of pipe-stone; the same material.
- The pipe was made from red pipestone. (The same hard, red clay.)
Synonyms
- Catlinite: the mineralogical name for pipe-stone, named after the artist George Catlin.
- Catlinite is a fine-grained, argillaceous stone. (A formal term for pipe-stone.)
Related Idioms
- (The term is primarily technical or historical.)