Meanings
- obsoleteuncountabledentistryBits of waste metal mixed with bone, dust, etc.; lemel.
[I]f, therefore, a measured half-pint of limaille be submitted to the process, however rich or poor in quality, four fluid ounces of hydrochloric acid and sixteen of water would be such proportions as I think would meet every case.
1858, Transactions of the Odontological Society of Great Britain, page 192 more examples
This absence of blood, which was in accordance with the external phenomena, led to the disuse of mercury, and to the substitution of the internal use of iron, ( limaille porphyrisée, ) in the dose of a “gros" daily, under the form of opiate, with tonics.
1833, John Forbes, The Cyclopaedia of Practical MedicineI have with much pleasure listened to Mr. Bennett's paper on refining gold, and the reduction of limaille, but as I consider every dentist may not have the means of applying the dry process, allow me to state the mode I recommend, as being the less elaborate, and the less expensive. Limaille generally consists of gold, silver, iron, lead, tin, zinc, and bone filings.
1858, Quarterly Journal of Dental Science - Volume 1, page 379
Origin
- Frenchlimaille
- Englishlimaille
From French limaille.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
limaille. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/limaille
“limaille.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/limaille. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “limaille,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/limaille.
Source: limaille on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.