carborundum

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   silicon carbide, an extremely hard crystalline material used as an abrasive and in industrial ceramics

   The machinist used a carborundum wheel to grind the hardened steel.

Originally a trademark coined in the 1890s as a blend of carbon + corundum for artificial silicon carbide. The name became a common noun for the hard crystalline abrasive and products made from it.

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