Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Soapstone: an impure massive variety of talc. Also called
potstone . - noun A gem or seal, cut in steatite.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Min.) A massive variety of talc, of a grayish green or brown color. It forms extensive beds, and is quarried for fireplaces and for coarse utensils. Called also
potstone ,lard stone , andsoapstone .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun mineralogy
soapstone
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a soft heavy compact variety of talc having a soapy feel; used to make hearths and tabletops and ornaments
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Solid forms of talc are known as steatite or soapstone.
Chapter 9 1990
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Sand is commonly met with at the depth of three or four fathoms, and beneath this a stratum of napal or steatite, which is considered as a sign that the metal is near; but the least fallible mark is a red stone, called batu kawi, lying in detached pieces.
The History of Sumatra Containing An Account Of The Government, Laws, Customs And Manners Of The Native Inhabitants William Marsden 1795
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The rivers, plains, and nearby mountains offered abundant wild animals, fish, and timber, and raw materials such as steatite (talc) and copper.
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Visitors may recognize other hallmark Minoan artifacts in the show: clay tablets inscribed with the still-undeciphered Linear A writing, a bull's head rhyton carved from chlorite with gilded horns, and the "Chieftain's Cup," a carved steatite conical cup with processional scene (see photo gallery).
Minoans in Manhattan 2008
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And here, yielding to an irresistible impulse, I wrote my name upon the nose of a steatite monster from
The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells Herbert George 2006
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The bowl was of soft stone, apparently steatite, which, when fresh, is easily fashioned with a knife.
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Meccah 2003
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Also of Egyptian manufacture is the beautiful glazed steatite scarab inscribed with a knot design typical of the late Middle Kingdom (mid to late Dynasty 13) unearthed on the very first day of the 2001 excavations.
Interactive Dig Hierakonpolis - Nubians at Hierakonpolis 2002
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Nearby excavations have also yielded some noteworthy finds: a terra-cotta house model probably used as a bird cage and a two-by-two-inch steatite Harappan Phase seal carved with a unicorn motif and 13 script signs.
Early Indus Script 1999
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Alabaster bowls, more than a dozen steatite vessels, and fragments of ostrich eggshell containers were also found.
Arabian Hoard 1998
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In addition to a Bronze Age steatite seal, schist reliefs, and stucco heads, this donation included four fragments of a large Bronze Age silver bowl combining Indian and Mesopotamian stylistic characteristics in depicting a frieze of bulls.
yarb commented on the word steatite
"I wrote my name upon the nose of a steatite monster from South America that particularly took my fancy."
- Wells, The Time Machine
June 5, 2008