borax

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: bo=rax

CIDE DICTIONARY

borax, n. [OE. boras, fr. F. borax, earlier spelt borras; cf. LL. borax, Sp. borraj; all fr. Ar. brag, fr. Pers. brah.].

 A white or gray crystalline salt, with a slight alkaline taste, used as a flux, in soldering metals, making enamels, fixing colors on porcelain, and as a soap. It occurs native in certain mineral springs, and is made from the boric acid of hot springs in Tuscany. It was originally obtained from a lake in Thibet, and was sent to Europe under the name of tincal. Borax is a pyroborate or tetraborate of sodium, Na2B4O7.10H2O.  [1913 Webster]

Borax bead. (Chem.) See Bead, n., 3.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

borax, n.
1 the mineral salt sodium borate, occurring in alkaline deposits as an efflorescence or as crystals.
2 the purified form of this salt, used in making glass and china, and as an antiseptic.

Etymology

ME f. OF boras f. med.L borax f. Arab. burak f. Pers. burah