asbestos

asbestos
asbestine /as bes"tin, az-/, asbestous, adj.asbestoid, asbestoidal, adj.
/as bes"teuhs, az-/, n.
1. Mineral. a fibrous mineral, either amphibole or chrysotile, formerly used for making incombustible or fireproof articles.
2. a fabric woven from asbestos fibers, formerly used for theater curtains, firefighters' gloves, etc.
3. Theat. a fireproof curtain.
Also, asbestus.
[1350-1400; < L < Gk: lit., unquenched, equiv. to a- A-6 + sbestós (sbes- var. s. of sbennýnai to quench + -tos ptp. suffix); r. ME asbeston, albeston < MF < L]

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Any of several minerals that separate readily into long, flexible fibres.

Chrysotile accounts for about 95% of all asbestos still in commercial use. The other types all belong to the amphibole group and include the highly fibrous forms of anthophyllite, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, and actinolite. Asbestos fibre was used in brake linings, insulation, roofing shingles, floor and ceiling tiles, cement pipes, and other building materials. Asbestos fabrics were used for safety apparel and theatre curtains. In the 1970s it was found that prolonged inhalation of the tiny asbestos fibres can cause asbestosis, lung cancer, and/or mesothelioma, all serious lung diseases. The incidence of mesothelioma is most commonly associated with extensive inhalation of amphibole asbestos. In 1989 the U.S. government instituted a gradual ban on the manufacture, use, and export of most products made with asbestos.

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      town, Estrie region, southern Quebec province, Canada. Asbestos lies near the Southwest Nicolet River, 95 miles (153 km) southwest of Quebec city. Its economy traditionally depended almost entirely on asbestos mining and the manufacture of asbestos products. One of the mines—the Jeffrey open-pit mine—is one of the largest asbestos mines in the world. Electrical equipment and wood products are manufactured. Inc. village, 1899; town, 1937. Pop. (2006) 6,819.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • asbestos — [as bes′təs, azbes′təs] n. [ME asbestus < L asbestos < Gr, inextinguishable < a , not + sbestos < sbennynai, to extinguish: first applied in Gr & L to unslaked lime or a mineral other than asbestos] any of several grayish minerals, as …   English World dictionary

  • asbestos — (n.) 1650s, earlier albeston, abestus (c.1100), name of a fabulous stone, which, set afire, could not be extinguished; from O.Fr. abeste, abestos, from L. asbestos quicklime (which burns when cold water is poured on it), from Gk. asbestos, lit.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • asbestos — n. A silicate mineral that resists heat and can be woven into fire resistant material. The Essential Law Dictionary. Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008 …   Law dictionary

  • Asbestos — v. du Canada (Québec); 6 480 hab. Importante mine d amiante …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • ASBESTOS — lapis ferrei coloris, qui accensus semel exstingui nequitur; eum Arcadia mittit, Solin. c. 7. In montibus Arcadiae nasci, Plin. l. 37. c. 10. habet. Qui idem Asbesti lini meminit quod in desertis adustisque Sole Indiae nasei prodit, sed rarum… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

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  • asbestos — [14] Originally, the word we now know as asbestos was applied in the Middle Ages to a mythical stone which, once set alight, could never be put out; it came from the Greek compound ásbestos, literally ‘inextinguishable’, which was formed from the …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

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