Steatite
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Soapstone. (often synonymous; more information at soapstone § Terminology). countable, uncountable
"Though a certain kind of paper is manufactured from bamboo pulp, the usual material of the books is the palm leaf, while for ordinary notebook purposes a kind of black tablet, called a parabeik, and a steatite pencil are employed."
- 2 a soft heavy compact variety of talc having a soapy feel; used to make hearths and tabletops and ornaments wordnet
Example
More examples"Though a certain kind of paper is manufactured from bamboo pulp, the usual material of the books is the palm leaf, while for ordinary notebook purposes a kind of black tablet, called a parabeik, and a steatite pencil are employed."
Etymology
From Latin steatītis, from Ancient Greek. By surface analysis, steat- (“fat”) + -ite (“stone”).
More for "steatite"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.