water biscuitn.
/ˈwɔːtə ˌbɪskɪt/, U.S. /ˈwɔdər ˌbɪskᵻt/, /ˈwɑdər ˌbɪskᵻt/ 1. A thin, crisp unsweetened biscuit made from flour and water. Chiefly British in later use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > biscuit > [noun] > crackers
watera1450
cracker1739
water biscuit1789
water cracker1803
cream cracker1906
Triscuit1906
saltine1907
shrimp cracker1969
1789 F. Nutt Compl. Confectioner 23 (heading) Italian water biscuits.
1795 T. Jefferson in Papers (2000) XXVIII. 431 25 lb of water biscuit. what they call crackers.
1819 Newcastle Courant 21 Aug. (advt.) Quartern loaves of the very first quality; also fine water biscuits, &c.
1854 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross (new ed.) xxxix. 313 Mr. Jorrocks..had looked in vain for a water-biscuit.
1920 Times of India 29 Dec. 8/3 I had finished luncheon with cheese—cheddar—and plain water biscuits hard as bricks.
1977 T. Heald Just Desserts ii. 34 She was nibbling a water biscuit, thoughtfully provided..as a palate cleanser.
2011 W. Barratt Social Class on Campus xiii. 176 Macaroni and cheese may be comfort food for you, and Brie on water biscuits may be comfort food for someone else.
2. A disc-shaped concretion (oncolite) of carbonate deposits formed in certain lake environments by the action of freshwater algae or bacteria.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > texture or colour > [noun] > texture > round inclusions
chondrule1889
water biscuit1899
orbicule1931
oncolite1933
1899 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 158 315 John M. Clarke:..The Squaw Island ‘Water Biscuit’, Canandaigua Lake, New York.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 1071 The tuberous calcareous algae are free growths, often with a stone or shell as centre... Some forms found in lakes are called ‘water-biscuits’.
1941 V. J. Chapman Introd. Study Algae ix. 267 The algal water-biscuits now found in South Australia.
1993 E. Klees Persons, Places, & Things Finger Lakes Region i. 32 Because of the high pH of the water at the northern end of Canandaigua Lake, ‘water biscuits’ form around the periphery of the island.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1789