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Glite Dictionary
flowers of zinc

flowers of zinc

8.4
A fine white powder used to colour paint and in ointments
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : flores de zinc
  • Pharmacists once prepared flowers of zinc for use in ointments to treat skin irritations.

Examples

  • The white pigment in the paint was derived from flowers of zinc.

  • Old chemistry textbooks often list flowers of zinc under the names of mineral substances.

  • The artist used flowers of zinc in her latest painting.

  • Can you identify the flowers of zinc in this sample?

  • Pharmacists once prepared flowers of zinc for use in ointments to treat skin irritations.

  • The white pigment in the paint was derived from flowers of zinc.

  • Old chemistry textbooks often list flowers of zinc under the names of mineral substances.

Synonyms

zinc oxide
vsflowers of zinc
2 4.0

A white powder used in paint and skin creams to protect skin

is the trade or pigment name for this compound across many products
philosophers' wool
vsflowers of zinc
  • Archaic
9.9

A white powder used to make white paint, cosmetics, and ointments

is the same substance but named differently in older usage
zinc white
vsflowers of zinc
  • Specialized
5.7

A white paint color made from zinc used in paintings

is used more broadly beyond art, including cosmetics, glass, inks, and ointments
Chinese white
vsflowers of zinc
  • Specialized
8.1

A strong white paint used to make colours lighter in paintings and drawings

covers that use but also applies to cosmetics, glass, inks, and ointments

Surface Forms

flowers of zinc singular
flowers of zinc plural

Morphology

flowers + of + zinc

The phrase 'flowers of zinc' uses an archaic/specialized sense of 'flowers' meaning a fine powder (zinc oxide), which is not the everyday meaning 'blossoms' a B1 learner would know. Because the intended sense is lexicalized and domain-specific rather than compositional from 'flowers' + 'of' + 'zinc', its meaning is not predictable from the parts and would likely be misinterpreted, so it is opaque.

Etymology

Flowers of zinc comes from old chemists: when zinc was heated and changed into a soft white powder, the tiny flakes looked like small flowers, so people called it flowers of zinc. That's why the phrase means today the white zinc oxide used as a pigment and in ointments.