kieselguhr

From German Kieselguhr, from Kiesel (“pebble, gravel”) + Guhr (“guhr”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkiːzəlɡʊə/

kieselguhr (countable and uncountable, plural kieselguhrs)

1. diatomaceous earth. A kind of soft rock containing the remains of diatoms; it absorbs nitroglycerine and is used to manufacture dynamite.
   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 191:

     It was the only name anybody seemed to know him by, “Kieselguhr” being a kind of fine clay, used to soak up nitroglycerine and stabilize it into dynamite.

kieselguhr m (plural kieselguhrs)

1. kieselguhr, diatomaceous earth

• terre d'infusoires
• terre diatomée

• “kieselguhr” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).