steatite

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a soft, dense variety of talc with a soapy feel, commonly called soapstone

   The sculptor carved the small figure from a block of steatite.

From Latin steatitis, from Ancient Greek stear, steatos ('fat, tallow'), referring to the mineral's greasy or soapy feel, + the mineral-forming suffix -ite.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
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