Calcareous

Description

Any material that contains or resembles carbonate calcium carbonate. A drop acid will cause a calcareous material to effervesce. Examples are chalk, limestone, dolomite, travertine, and marble.

Synonyms and Related Terms

calcaire (Fr.); calcrio (Port.); calctico (Port.)

Authority

• G.S.Brady, G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971

• Random House, Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998