Definition of "talc" [talc]

• A fine-grained white, greenish, or gray mineral, Mg3Si4O10(OH)2, having a soft soapy feel and used in talcum and face powder, as a paper coating, and as a filler for paint and plastics. (noun)
• To apply this substance to (a photographic plate, for example). (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "You refer to brown, blue and white asbestos, as well as talc, and refer approvingly of Christopher Booker�s assertion that white asbestos is �is to all intents and purposes indistinguishable from talc� because they are both hydrated magnesium silicates with very similar formulae."
• "The name talc is thought to be derived from the Arabic word talg or talk meaning mica since talc forms mica-like flakes."
• "_French chalk_: A variety of the mineral called talc, unctuous to the touch, of greenish color, glossy, soft, and easily scratched, and leaving a silvery line when drawn on paper."