borax
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English boras, from Anglo-Norman boreis, from Medieval Latin baurach (“borax”), from Arabic بَوْرَق (bawraq), from Middle Persian *būrag, which yielded Persian بوره (bure).
NounEdit
borax (uncountable)
- A white or gray/grey crystalline salt, with a slight alkaline taste, used as a flux, in soldering metals, making enamels, fixing colors/colours on porcelain, and as a soap, etc.
- (chemistry) The sodium salt of boric acid, Na2B4O7, either anhydrous or with 5 or 10 molecules of water of crystallisation; sodium tetraborate.
SynonymsEdit
- E285 when used as a preservative
Derived termsEdit
Derived terms
TranslationsEdit
crystalline salt
AdjectiveEdit
borax (not comparable)
- Cheap or tawdry, referring to furniture or other works of industrial design.