quicklime

plural quicklimes

1. countableuncountableCalcium oxide, which is produced by heating (calcining) limestone and gives slaked lime on treatment with water.

   The Warders strutted up and down, / And kept their herd of brutes, / Their uniforms were spick and span, / And they wore their Sunday suits, / But we knew the work they had been at, / By the quicklime on their boots.

   1898, Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol

   1 more example

   Considerable difficulty is experienced in several of the West Indian islands in obtaining quicklime for the preparation of Bordeaux mixture, and in keeping it in good condition when it has been procured. This has resulted in the use of slaked, or partially slaked, lime for the purpose, with the result that an inferior mixture has been produced. Instead of resorting in this difficulty to expensive and unsatisfactory commercial preparations, it may be suggested that the use of Burgundy mixture, in which the lime is replaced by sodium carbonate (washing soda) offers an alternative that is likely to give excellent results.

   1915 December 4, “Burgundy mixture as a substitute for Bordeaux mixture”, in The Agricultural News: A Fortnightly Review of the Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies, volume 14, number 355, Barbados, page 398

   Synonyms: anhydrous lime, burnt lime, caustic lime, unhydrated lime

present singular third person quicklimes · participle present quickliming · participle past quicklimed · past quicklimed

1. transitiveTo treat (something) with quicklime.