talc (tălk)
n.
A fine-grained white, greenish, or gray mineral, Mg₃Si₄O₁₀(OH)₂, having a soft soapy feel and used in talcum and face powder, as a paper coating, and as a filler for paint and plastics.

tr.v., talcked, or talced, talck·ing, or talc·ing, talcs, or talcs.
To apply this substance to (a photographic plate, for example).

[French, from Medieval Latin talcum and Old Spanish talco, both from Arabic ṭalq, from Persian talk.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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