noun / verb
pumice
PUM-iss/ˈpʌmɪs/
A light, porous volcanic rock used for smoothing or cleaning surfaces.
A piece of pale pumice floats in a shallow bowl.
Etymology
Old French pomis named this porous volcanic stone. Its deeper ancestry connects it with words for foam and froth, perhaps because its cellular structure resembled fossilized foam.
In context
This is a piece of lava that is full of gas bubbles and it's called pumice. There's so many gas bubbles that it feels really light
More examples
- I use a wet pumice stone to smooth my heels.
- He uses pumice to scrub stubborn stains from the porcelain.
- The carpenter pumices the wood before polishing it.
Forms
pumice · pumices · pumiced · pumicing
abrasive noun — A rough material used for smoothing or cleaning.
Similar words
- emery
- A harder mineral abrasive used for grinding and polishing.
- sandpaper
- Paper coated with abrasive grains rather than porous volcanic rock.