Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Composed of, containing, or characteristic of calcium carbonate, calcium, or limestone; chalky.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Partaking of the nature of lime; having the qualities of lime; containing lime; chalky: as, calcareous earth or stone.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Partaking of the nature of calcite or calcium carbonate; consisting of, or containing, calcium carbonate or carbonate of lime.
  • adjective See as Calcite.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Resembling or containing calcium carbonate or limestone; chalky.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective composed of or containing or resembling calcium carbonate or calcite or chalk

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Latin calcārius, from calx, calc-, lime; see calx.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin calcārius ("of or pertaining to lime"), derived from calx ("lime"). Similar to calcium.

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Examples

  • Another concern is what the acid might do to the specific algae called calcareous coralline algae that holds the coral reefs together and act as a substrate or base upon which corals can grow.

    ScienCentral Jack Penland 2009

  • Her work showed that carrizaleños were highly skilled builders, who used local resources (such as calcareous stone) for construction.

    Archaeology and Architecture « Interactive Dig El Carrizal – Rescuing a Mesoamerican Site 2009

  • The oil in this composition, being dissolved by the lime, wholly disappears; and, uniting with the whole of the other ingredients, forms a kind of calcareous soap.

    Young's Demonstrative Translation of Scientific Secrets Daniel Young

  • Thus, if the soil be too wet, it may be drained; if too loose and sandy, it may be rendered more consistent and retentive of water by the addition of clay or loam; it may be enriched by chalk, or any kind of calcareous earth.

    Conversations on Chemistry, V. 1-2 In Which the Elements of that Science Are Familiarly Explained and Illustrated by Experiments 1813

  • In these calcareous (limestone) formations are grand halls and rooms, narrow passages, underground rivers, stalactites and stalagmites where fossils of ancient plants and animals have been preserved among the calcified walls and ceilings, products of trickling water throughout thousands of years.

    Guide to alternative tourism in Michoacán 2008

  • In these calcareous (limestone) formations are grand halls and rooms, narrow passages, underground rivers, stalactites and stalagmites where fossils of ancient plants and animals have been preserved among the calcified walls and ceilings, products of trickling water throughout thousands of years.

    Guide to alternative tourism in Michoacán 2008

  • These mangroves are bounded by calcareous deposits and limestone, which is the major soil formation in the area.

    Ría Lagartos mangroves 2008

  • In these calcareous (limestone) formations are grand halls and rooms, narrow passages, underground rivers, stalactites and stalagmites where fossils of ancient plants and animals have been preserved among the calcified walls and ceilings, products of trickling water throughout thousands of years.

    Guide to alternative tourism in Michoacán 2008

  • Lake Plain AVA consist of calcareous rich glacial-lacustrine sediments and high lime glacial till deposits in well drained to moderately drained soils with the ability to produce full bodied wines with character.

    Getting to Know New Yorks' Newest AVA: Ontario Lake Plain 2008

  • In these calcareous (limestone) formations are grand halls and rooms, narrow passages, underground rivers, stalactites and stalagmites where fossils of ancient plants and animals have been preserved among the calcified walls and ceilings, products of trickling water throughout thousands of years.

    Guide to alternative tourism in Michoacán 2008

Comments

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  • "'And all founded upon what? Upon the skeletons of other coral-polyps, the calcareous external skeletons of other coral-polyps, in quantities that run far beyond conception, that is what. For I do assure you, Jack, that everything here, apart from these trifling adventitious vegetables'—waving toward the palms—'is coral, living or dead, coral sand or solid coralline accumulation. There is no subjacent rock at all. ... The force of these waves is very great: the animalculum is miserably frail.'"

    --Patrick O'Brian, The Far Side of the World, 317

    February 23, 2008