Asbestos

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Asbestus \As*bes"tus\, Asbestos \As*bes"tos\ (?; 277), n. [L.
     asbestos (NL. asbestus) a kind of mineral unaffected by fire,
     Gr. ? (prop. an adj.) inextinguishable; 'a priv. + ? to
     extinguish.] (Min.)
     A variety of amphibole or of pyroxene, occurring in long and
     delicate fibers, or in fibrous masses or seams, usually of a


     white, gray, or green-gray color. The name is also given to a
     similar variety of serpentine.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The finer varieties have been wrought into gloves and
           cloth which are incombustible. The cloth was formerly
           used as a shroud for dead bodies, and has been
           recommended for firemen's clothes. Asbestus in also
           employed in the manufacture of iron safes, for
           fireproof roofing, and for lampwicks. Some varieties
           are called amianthus. --Dana.

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  asbestos
       n : a fibrous amphibole; used for making fireproof articles;
           inhaling fibers can cause asbestosis or lung cancer

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  43 Moby Thesaurus words for "asbestos":
     act drop, amianthus, asbestos board, asbestos curtain, backdrop,
     batten, border, cloth, coulisse, counterweight, curtain,
     curtain board, cyclorama, decor, drop, drop curtain, earth flax,
     fire break, fire curtain, fire line, fire resistance,
     fire retardant, fire wall, fireproofing, flat, flipper, hanging,
     mountain flax, rag, scene, scenery, screen, side scene,
     stage screw, tab, tableau, teaser, tormentor, transformation,
     transformation scene, wing, wingcut, woodcut
  
  

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  asbestos adj. [common] Used as a modifier to anything intended to
     protect one from {flame}s; also in other highly {flame}-suggestive
     usages. See, for example, {asbestos longjohns} and {asbestos cork
     award}.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  asbestos
       
           Used as a modifier to anything intended to protect
          one from {flames}; also in other highly {flame}-suggestive
          usages.  E.g., {asbestos longjohns}, {asbestos cork award}.
       
          [{Jargon File}]
       
          (1996-02-06)