pozzolana

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian pozz(u)olana, earth of Pozzuoli, a town near Naples, itself from Latin Puteoli, ultimately from the verb puteō (stink).

Pronunciation

Noun

pozzolana (countable and uncountable, plural pozzolanas)

  1. A type of volcanic ash used for mortar or for cement which sets under water. [from 17th c.]
    • 1962, WH Auden, Elizabeth Mayer, translating JW Goethe, Italian Journey, Penguin, published 1970, page 450:
      Finally the street is strewn with pozzolana to prevent the horses from slipping on the smooth paving.

Translations

References

  • The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 10th ed, p.1122.

Italian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Pozzuoli +‎ -ana, a calque of Latin pulvis Puteolānus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pot.t͡soˈla.na/
  • Rhymes: -ana
  • Hyphenation: poz‧zo‧là‧na

Noun

pozzolana f (plural pozzolane)

  1. (geology) pozzolana
  2. pozzolan

Descendants

  • English: pozzolana, pozzuolana, puzzolana, puzzolano
  • Esperanto: pucolano
  • Finnish: potsolaani
  • Portuguese: pozolana