slickens

English

Etymology 1

Verb

slickens

  1. third-person singular simple present indicative of slicken

Etymology 2

Ultimately a reference to the slimy, slick nature of the material. Compare slicken (“smooth”, adjective), slick (noun).

Noun

slickens

  1. (originally US dialectal) Fine, harmful, and (when wet) slimy pulverized rock, a waste product (pollution) produced by hydraulic mining and quartz milling, which can silt up rivers and accumulate on soil downstream of such activities.
    • For quotations using this term, see Citations:slickens.
Usage notes
  • Sometimes treated as a singular (this slickens is, sometimes even a slickens), sometimes a plural (these slickens are).

References

“slickens”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

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