Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A doughlike cement made by mixing whiting and linseed oil, used to fill holes in woodwork and secure panes of glass.
  • noun A substance with a similar consistency or function.
  • noun A fine lime cement used as a finishing coat on plaster.
  • noun A yellowish or light brownish gray to grayish yellow or light grayish brown.
  • transitive verb To fill, cover, or secure with putty.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A kind of paste or cement compounded of whiting, or soft carbonate of lime, and linseed-oil, mixed to the consistence of dough.
  • noun A powder of oxid of tin, used in polishing glass and steel: sometimes called jewelers' putty.
  • noun A very fine cement, used by plasterers and stone-masons, made of lime only. See the quotation.
  • noun A mixture of ground materials in which in potteries earthenware is dipped for glazing.
  • noun A mixture of clay and horse-dung used in making molds in foundries.
  • noun A composition golf-ball, no longer in use.
  • To cement with putty; fill up with putty.
  • noun Same as puttee.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A kind of gaiter of waterproof cloth wrapped around the leg, used by soldiers, etc.
  • transitive verb To cement, or stop, with putty.
  • noun A kind of thick paste or cement compounded of whiting, or soft carbonate of lime, and linseed oil, when applied beaten or kneaded to the consistence of dough, -- used in fastening glass in sashes, stopping crevices, and for similar purposes.
  • noun (Golf), colloq. A ball made of composition and not gutta percha.
  • noun an oxide of tin, or of tin and lead in various proportions, much used in polishing glass, metal, precious stones, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of, pertaining to, or resembling putty.
  • noun A form of cement, made from linseed oil and whiting, used to fix panes of glass.
  • noun Any of a range of similar substances.
  • verb transitive to fix something using putty

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a dough-like mixture of whiting and boiled linseed oil; used especially to patch woodwork or secure panes of glass
  • verb apply putty in order to fix or fill

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French potée, polishing powder, from Old French, a potful, from pot, pot, from Vulgar Latin *pottus.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French potée.

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Examples

Comments

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  • These are interesting:

    "n. A kind of gaiter of waterproof cloth wrapped around the leg, used by soldiers, etc." --from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

    "n. A composition golf-ball, no longer in use." --from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

    January 13, 2015

  • I think the more common spelling for the gaiter is puttee. The golf ball application must refer to balls with a gutta-percha core.

    January 13, 2015