amianthus

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noun

A type of asbestos with long, soft, thin fibers.

OriginAncient Greek ἀμίαντος →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounamianthus (usually uncountable, plural amianthuses)

plural amianthuses

  1. uncountableusuallyA type of asbestos with long, soft, thin fibers.

    the Microscope can afford us hundreds of Instances of Points many thousand times sharper: such as […] the ends of the stiriæ or small parallelipipeds of Amianthus […]

    1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia, section I

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
byssolite

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἀμίαντος“undefiled”
  2. Englishamianthus

From Ancient Greek ἀμίαντος (amíantos, “undefiled”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + μιαίνω (miaínō, “I defile”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan amiant
  • amianta type of asbestos with long, soft, thin fibers
Polish amiant
  • amianta type of asbestos with long, soft, thin fibers
Portuguese amianto
  • amiantoa type of asbestos with long, soft, thin fibers
Spanish amianto
  • amiantoa type of asbestos with long, soft, thin fibers
Cite this entry
APA

amianthus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amianthus

MLA

“amianthus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amianthus. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “amianthus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/amianthus.

Source: amianthus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.