clinker

English

Wikipedia

clinker brick

Alternative forms

• klinker

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /klɪŋkə/
• Rhymes: -ɪŋkə(r)

Etymology 1

From Dutch klinkaerd, later klinker, from klinken (“to ring, resound”).

Noun

clinker (plural clinkers)

1. A very hard brick used for paving customarily made in the Netherlands. [from 17th c.]
2. A mass of bricks fused together by intense heat. [from 17th c.]
3. Slag or ash produced by intense heat in a furnace, kiln or boiler that forms a hard residue upon cooling. [from 18th c.]
4. Hardened volcanic lava. [from 19th c.]
   • 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society 2011, p. 10:

     Nobody could pretend that a huge slope of clinker is aesthetically pleasing.

5. A scum of oxide of iron formed in forging. [from 19th c.]

Etymology 2

From clink +‎ -er.

Noun

clinker (plural clinkers)

1. Someone or something that clinks.
2. (in the plural) Fetters.
3. Someone or something that clinches.

Derived terms

• clinker block
• clinker-built
• clinkerwise

Anagrams

• crinkle