kelp

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

kelp, n. [Formerly kilpe; of unknown origin.].

•  The calcined ashes of seaweed, -- formerly much used in the manufacture of glass, now used in the manufacture of iodine.  [1913 Webster]
•  Any large blackish seaweed.  [1913 Webster]

  " Laminaria is the common kelp of Great Britain; Macrocystis pyrifera and Nereocystis Lutkeana are the great kelps of the Pacific Ocean."  [1913 Webster]

Kelp crab (Zoöl.), a California spider crab (Epialtus productus), found among seaweeds, which it resembles in color. -- Kelp salmon (Zoöl.), a serranoid food fish (Serranus clathratus) of California. See Cabrilla.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

kelp, n.
1 any of several large broad-fronded brown seaweeds esp. of the genus Laminaria, suitable for use as manure.
2 the calcined ashes of seaweed formerly used in glass-making and soap manufacture because of their high content of sodium, potassium, and magnesium salts.

Etymology

ME c{uuml}lp(e), of unkn. orig.

THESAURUS

kelp

algae, autophyte, bean, bracken, brown algae, climber, conferva, confervoid, creeper, diatom, fern, fruits and vegetables, fucus, fungus, grapevine, green algae, gulfweed, herb, heterophyte, ivy, legume, lentil, liana, lichen, liverwort, mold, moss, mushroom, parasite, parasitic plant, pea, perthophyte, phytoplankton, planktonic algae, plant families, puffball, pulse, red algae, rockweed, rust, saprophyte, sargasso, sargassum, sea lentil, sea moss, sea wrack, seaweed, smut, succulent, toadstool, vetch, vine, wort, wrack