fuller's earth

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌfʊləz ˈɜːθ/

Noun

fuller's earth (uncountable)

  1. A fine clay used in fulling cloth.
    Synonym: walker's earth (rare)
    • 1785 October 17, The Times, page 3 col. D:
      On Lord Sunderland's estate, in the county of Westmeath, there is a fine strata of fuller’s earth, a commodity of which our woollen manufacturers stand much in need: yet this bed lies unnoticed to all, except the peasantry on the soil.
    • 1892, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb‎[1]:
      You are probably aware that fuller’s earth is a valuable product, and that it is only found in one or two places in England?
    • 1979, Kax Wilson, A History of Textiles, Westview Press, →ISBN, page 84:
      The bleaching was not always uniform, and sometimes white fuller's earth or gypsum was rubbed into the fabric to even out the whitening effect.

Translations

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