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borax

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
bo·rax 1  (bôrks, -ks, br-)
n.
1. A hydrated sodium borate, Na2B4O7·10H2O, an ore of boron, that is used as a cleaning compound.
2. An anhydrous sodium borate used in the manufacture of glass and various ceramics.

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin brx, from Arabic braq, from Middle Persian brak.]

bo·rax 2  (bôrks, br-)
n.
Cheap merchandise, especially tasteless furnishings: "today's glinty borax" (New Yorker).

[Perhaps from the custom of giving away borax soap as a premium for the sale of cheap furniture.]

borax [ˈbɔːræks]
n pl -raxes, -races [-rəˌsiːz]
1. (Earth Sciences / Minerals) Also called tincal a soluble readily fusible white mineral consisting of impure hydrated disodium tetraborate in monoclinic crystalline form, occurring in alkaline soils and salt deposits. Formula: Na2B4O7.10H2O
2. (Chemistry / Elements & Compounds) pure disodium tetraborate
[from Old French boras, from Medieval Latin borax, from Arabic būraq, from Persian būrah]

borax  (bôrks)
A white, crystalline powder and mineral used as an antiseptic, as a cleansing agent, and in fusing metals and making heat-resistant glass. The mineral is an ore of boron and also occurs in yellowish, blue, or green varieties. Chemical formula: Na2B4O7·10H2O.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.borax - an ore of boron consisting of hydrated sodium borate; used as a flux or cleansing agent
atomic number 5, boron, B - a trivalent metalloid element; occurs both in a hard black crystal and in the form of a yellow or brown powder
mineral - solid homogeneous inorganic substances occurring in nature having a definite chemical composition
Translations
borax [ˈbɔːræks] N (boraxes or boraces (pl)) → bórax m
borax [ˈbɔːræks] nborax m
borax
nBorax m
borax [ˈbɔːræks] nborace m
borax [ˈbɔːræks] nborace m


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There was never the least attention paid to what was cut up for sausage; there would come all the way back from Europe old sausage that had been rejected, and that was moldy and white--it would be dosed with borax and glycerine, and dumped into the hoppers, and made over again for home consumption.
And he met Thibetan herdsmen with their dogs and flocks of sheep, each sheep with a little bag of borax on his back, and wandering wood-cutters, and cloaked and blanketed Lamas from Thibet, coming into India on pilgrimage, and envoys of little solitary Hill-states, posting furiously on ring-streaked and piebald ponies, or the cavalcade of a Rajah paying a visit; or else for a long, clear day he would see nothing more than a black bear grunting and rooting below in the valley.
They dipped across beds of light snow and snow-powdered shale, where they took refuge from a gale in a camp of Tibetans hurrying down tiny sheep, each laden with a bag of borax.
 
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