chalk

¹chalk

noun \ˈchȯk\

Definition of CHALK

1

a : a soft white, gray, or buff limestone composed chiefly of the shells of foraminifers

b : a prepared form of chalk or a material resembling chalk especially when used (as for writing on blackboards) as a crayon

2

a : a mark made with chalk

b British : a point scored in a game

— chalky \ˈchȯ-kē\ adjective

Examples of CHALK

1. The teacher handed her a piece of chalk and asked her to write the answer on the chalkboard.
2. He put chalk marks on the stage to show the actors where they should stand.
3. They drew pictures on the sidewalk with colored chalks.

Origin of CHALK

Middle English, from Old English cealc, from Latin calc-, calx lime; akin to Greek chalix pebble

First Known Use: before 12th century

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

Rhymes with CHALK

auk, balk, calk, caulk, gawk, hawk, Koch, Sauk, squawk, stalk, talk, walk

²chalk

verb

Definition of CHALK

transitive verb

1

: to write or draw with chalk

2

: to rub or mark with chalk

3

a : to delineate roughly : sketch

b : to set down or add up with or as if with chalk : record —usually used with up <chalk up the totals>

intransitive verb

: to become chalky <the paint had begun to chalk>

Examples of CHALK

1. She chalked a message on the side of the barn.
2. He chalked the stage to show the actors where they should stand.

First Known Use of CHALK

1580

chalk

noun \ˈchȯk\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of CHALK

: a soft white, gray, or buff limestone composed chiefly of the shells of foraminifers and sometimes used medicinally as a source of calcium carbonate—called also creta; see precipitated chalk, prepared chalk

—chalky \ˈchȯ-kē\ (audio pronunciation) adjective

chalk

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Soft, fine-grained, easily pulverized, white-to-grayish variety of limestone, composed of the shells of minute marine organisms. The purest varieties contain up to 99% calcium carbonate in the form of the mineral calcite. Extensive deposits occur in western Europe south of Sweden and in England, notably in the chalk cliffs of Dover along the English Channel. Other extensive deposits occur in the U.S. from South Dakota to Texas and eastward to Alabama. Chalk is used for making lime and portland cement and as a soil additive. Finely ground and purified chalk is known as whiting and is used as a filler, extender, or pigment in a wide variety of materials, including ceramics, putty, cosmetics, crayons, plastics, rubber, paper, paints, and linoleum. The chalk commonly used in classrooms is a manufactured substance rather than natural chalk.