adobe
/əˈdəʊbi
/ /əˈdəʊb /noun [mass noun]
1A kind of clay used as a building material: [as modifier]: adobe houses...
- Most notably, the Pueblo Indians in the Southwest used adobe masonry to moderate weather extremes and keep their homes comfortable.
- Wild West history abounds in Mesilla, where adobe buildings dating to the 1800s are still in use as shops and galleries.
- Tombstone, an easy day trip from Tucson, does however offer one vision of Arizona's pioneer days: clapboard and adobe buildings, and, of course, re-enacted gunfights.
1.1 [count noun] A brick formed from adobe.Like conventional bricks, adobes are laid in a running bond - an overlapping pattern - then mortared in place with adobe mud....
- He's also introduced straw-clay bricks that can be used like lightweight adobes.
- That is not to say that it is impossible to make a good adobe without straw, but speaks of the long-standing relationship between the two materials that is as old as anyone can remember.
1.2 [count noun] US A building constructed from adobe clay or bricks.Eastern senators extolled the peace while Senor Villa descended on the tents & adobes of the 13th Cavalry, Columbus, New Mexico...
- Stroll the main drag, Third Street, past restaurants and shops selling gifts and antiques, all housed in old adobes and low, false-fronted wood buildings.
- The market is strong, with recently built adobes starting at around $180,000.
Origin
Mid 18th century: from Spanish, from adobar 'to plaster', from Arabic aṭ-ṭūb, from al 'the' + ṭūb 'bricks'.