calamine
/ˈkaləmʌɪn
/noun
1 [mass noun] A pink powder consisting of zinc carbonate and ferric oxide, used to make a soothing lotion or ointment: [as modifier]: calamine lotion...
- Your doctor might have you use antihistamine pills, a steroid cream, calamine lotion, or zinc oxide cream.
- If your skin is itchy, avoid using alcohol, calamine lotion or powder - because all three tend to dry your skin, she says.
- Crotamiton or calamine cream or lotions have soothing qualities and may help to relieve itching.
2 dated Smithsonite or a similar zinc ore.For example, the calamine violet grows only where the soil is highly enriched in zinc, and the copper flower grows in areas of copper mineralization....
- Historically, smithsonite is referred to as calamine in some descriptive literature, particularly that related to Great Britain and Australia, leading to confusion with hemimorphite if specific compositional data are lacking.
- Business interests are represented by documents relating to calamine mining on Malham Moor and the collection includes particularly rich archives for Craven area townships.
Origin
Late Middle English: via Old French from medieval Latin calamina, alteration of Latin cadmia 'calamine', from Greek kadmeia (gē) 'Cadmean (earth)', from Kadmos 'Cadmus' (see Cadmus).