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as·bes·tos (ăs-bĕstəs, ăz-)
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n.
1. Any of six incombustible chemical-resistant silicate minerals, including one serpentine (chrysotile) and five amphiboles (amosite, crocidolite, and fibrous forms of actinolite, anthophyllite, and tremolite), that separate easily into long, thin, flexible fibers and that have been widely used commercially in products such as fireproofing, electrical insulation, building materials, brake linings, and chemical filters. Mining and use of asbestos has been restricted because inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause asbestosis and cancer.
2. Fabric or material containing any of these mineral forms.
adj.
Of, made of, or containing one of these six mineral forms.

[Middle English asbestus, a kind of mineral which could not be extinguished when it caught fire, perhaps also asbestos (whose fibers may have been made into wicks that would never be consumed when used in ever-burning oil lamps), from Medieval Latin, from Latin asbestos, a kind of mineral (exact meaning uncertain), from Greek, quicklime, from asbestos (tintanos), unquenchable (lime), from asbestos, unquenchable (quicklime being so called because it reacts vigorously with water to release heat that can ignite combustible substances) : a-, not; see A-1 + sbennunai, sbes-, to quench.]

as·bestine (-tĭn), as·bestic (-tĭk) adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.