Clay , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clayed (?);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Claying.]
1. To cover or manure with clay.
2. To clarify by
filtering through clay, as sugar.
Clay (klā), n. [AS. cl&aemacr;g; akin to LG. klei, D. klei, and perh. to AS. clām clay, L.
glus, gluten glue, Gr. gloio`s glutinous substance, E. glue. Cf. Clog.]
1. A soft earth,
which is plastic, or may be molded with the hands, consisting of hydrous silicate of aluminium. It is the result
of the wearing down and decomposition, in part, of
rocks containing aluminous minerals, as granite. Lime, magnesia, oxide of iron, and other ingredients, are often present as impurities.
2. (Poetry & Script.) Earth in general, as representing the elementary particles of the human
body; hence, the human body as formed from such particles.
I also am formed out of
the clay.
Job xxxiii. 6.
The earth is
covered thick with other clay,
Which her own clay shall cover.
Byron.
Bowlder clay. See under Bowlder. -- Brick
clay, the common clay, containing some iron, and therefore turning red when burned. -- Clay cold, cold as clay
or earth; lifeless; inanimate.
-- Clay ironstone,
an ore of
iron consisting of the oxide or
carbonate of iron mixed with clay or
sand. -- Clay marl, a whitish, smooth, chalky clay. -- Clay mill, a mill for
mixing and tempering clay; a pug mill. -- Clay pit, a pit where clay is dug. -- Clay slate (Min.), argillaceous schist; argillite. -- Fatty
clays, clays having a greasy feel; they are chemical compounds of water, silica, and aluminia, as halloysite, bole,
etc. -- Fire clay ,
a variety of clay, entirely free from lime, iron, or an alkali, and therefore infusible, and used for fire brick. -- Porcelain clay, a very pure variety, formed directly from the decomposition of feldspar, and often called kaolin. - - Potter's clay, a tolerably pure kind, free from iron.
Hear it pronounced