dust

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   fine powdery material such as dry earth or pollen that can be blown about in the air

   the furniture was covered with dust

2. 2
   noun

   free microscopic particles of solid material

   astronomers say that the empty space between planets actually contains measurable amounts of dust

3. 3
   verb

   remove the dust from

   dust the cabinets

4. 4
   verb

   rub the dust over a surface so as to blur the outlines of a shape

   The artist dusted the charcoal drawing down to a faint image

5. 5
   verb

   cover with a light dusting of a substance

   dust the bread with flour

6. 6
   noun

   Fine particles.

   There is so much dust released during the process of laying ballast that the trackside operator wears a full face mask with respirator.

7. 7
   noun

   The act of cleaning by dusting.

   […]once they start school, I mean you can do a room out one day, the next day it only needs a dust, doesn’t it?

8. 8
   noun

   Earth, ground, soil, sediment.

   But I should turn mine ears and hear The moanings of the homeless sea, ⁠The sound of streams that swift or slow ⁠Draw down Æonian hills, and sow The dust of continents to be; […]

Etymology

From Middle English dust, doust, from Old English dūst (“dust, dried earth reduced to powder; other dry material reduced to powder”), from the fusion of Proto-Germanic *dustą (“dust”) and *dunstą (“mist, dust, evaporation”), both from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, raise dust”). Cognate with Scots dust, dist (“dust”), Dutch duist (“pollen, dust”) and dons (“down, fuzz”), German Dust (“dust”) and Dunst (“haze”), Swedish dust (“dust”), Icelandic dust (“dust”), Latin fūmus (“smoke, steam”). Also related to Swedish dun (“down, fluff”), Icelandic dúnn (“down, fluff”). See down.