clay

Meaning

Noun

1. (uncountable, usually) A mineral substance made up of small crystals of silica and alumina, that is ductile when moist; the material of pre-fired ceramics.
2. (uncountable, usually) An earth material with ductile qualities.
3. (uncountable, usually) A tennis court surface made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate.
4. (uncountable, usually) The material of the human body.
5. (uncountable, usually) A particle less than 3.9 microns in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
6. (uncountable, usually) A clay pipe for smoking tobacco.
7. (informal, uncountable, usually) A clay pigeon.
8. (Internet, humorous, uncountable, usually) Land or territory of a country or other political region, especially when subject to territorial claims.
9. (uncountable, usually) A moth, Mythimna ferrago

Verb

1. (transitive) To add clay to, to spread clay onto.
2. (transitive) To purify using clay.

Synonyms

mud

earth

loam

soil

stiff

cadaver

remains

corpse

earthen

dirt

argil

dead body

body

mire

carcass

land

slime

white clay

mortar

stone

🪨

wet ground

ground

clayey soil

loamy

white

brown clay

rock

🪨

sand

sap

sect

silt

slab

slosh

sludge

swamp

terracotta

thunderbolt

clay particle

Aas

cl

potter’s clay

terra cotta

clay soil

be muddy

soft ground

hargil

religion

soft mud

wet dirt

slippery ground

Translations

argile

argilla

Ton

arcilla

Lehm

barro

άργιλος

argila

klei

πηλός

argila

argilla

creta

Tonerde

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kleɪ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: cley

Inherited from Old English: clǣġ

Cognate with Dutch: klei

Cognate with Low German: Klei

Cognate with German: Klei

Cognate with Danish: klæg

Cognate with Ancient Greek: γλία

Cognate with Latin: glūten

Cognate with English: glue

Cognate with Russian: глина

In summary

From Middle English cley, clay, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”), from Proto-West Germanic *klaij, from Proto-Germanic *klajjaz (“clay”), from Proto-Indo-European *gley- (“to glue, paste, stick together”).
Cognate with Dutch klei (“clay”), Low German Klei (“clay”), German Klei, Danish klæg (“clay”); compare Ancient Greek γλία (glía), Latin glūten (“glue”) (whence ultimately English glue), Russian глина (glina, “clay”). Related also to clag, clog.

Sentences

The city is known for its traditional Yixing clay ware .