blancon.
/ˈblaŋkəʊ/, U.S. /ˈblæŋkoʊ/ A white preparation for whitening accoutrements; also, a similar preparation of khaki colouring.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > white or whiteness > whitener > [noun] > whiting powder or stone
whitingeOE
whitening1638
hearthstone1705
Paris white1838
blanco1895
1895 in Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price-list.
1906 Daily Chron. 30 Mar. 3/7 The sleeves get covered with ‘blanco’ off the belt.
1924 Glasgow Herald 3 Mar. 10 I was reminded of Army days and the power of a careful use of the blanco brush.
1966 D. Holbrook Flesh Wounds 37 They covered their webbing with the watery yellow blanco.
Derivatives
ˈblanco v. (transitive) to treat with blanco.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > white or whiteness > whitening > make white [verb (transitive)] > whiten with specific substance
limec1440
chalk1633
whitewash1722
lime-white1777
lime-wash1823
hearthstone1838
pipeclaya1839
white-stone1838
kalsomine1840
blanco1912
1912 E. Wallace Private Selby viii. 75 One unhappy mortal, ‘warned’ for guard..was lugubriously ‘blancoing’ his straps.
a1918 W. Owen Coll. Poems (1963) 79 Boots dubbined; rifles clean and oiled; Belts blancoed.
1948 A. Baron From City, from Plough 32 For half a crown he would blanco the whole of a man's equipment.
ˈblancoed adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > white or whiteness > whitening > [adjective] > whitened with specific substance
pipeclayed1797
blancoeda1953
a1953 D. Thomas Quite Early One Morning (1954) 30 Gym-shoes white as the blanco'd snow.
1955 Times 25 June 6/5 Since the war they have worn British battle-dress and blancoed web equipment.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1895