borax1

[bawr-aks, -uh ks, bohr-] /ˈbɔr æks, -əks, ˈboʊr-/
noun, plural boraxes, boraces
[bawr-uh-seez, bohr-] /ˈbɔr əˌsiz, ˈboʊr-/ (Show IPA)
1.
a white, water-soluble powder or crystals, hydrated sodium borate, Na 2 B 4 O 7 ⋅10H 2 O, occurring naturally or obtained from naturally occurring borates; tincal: used as a flux, cleansing agent, in the manufacture of glass, porcelain, and enamel, and in tanning.
Also called sodium borate, sodium pyroborate, sodium tetraborate.
Origin
1350-1400; < Medieval Latin ≪ dialectal Arabic būraq < Middle Persian būrag; replacing Middle English boras < Middle French < Medieval Latin borax

borax2

[bawr-aks, -uh ks, bohr-] /ˈbɔr æks, -əks, ˈboʊr-/
noun
1.
cheap, showy, poorly made merchandise, especially cheaply built furniture of an undistinguished or heterogeneous style.
Origin
1940-45, Americanism; of uncertain origin
Examples from the web for borax
  • No adverse effects from inhaling borax have been reported.
  • The refining of borax to boric acid is a straightforward procedure, but another with some room for improvement.
  • Sprinkle salt and borax on the fleshy part of the tail.
British Dictionary definitions for borax

borak

/ˈbɔːrək/
noun (Austral & NZ, slang, archaic)
1.
rubbish; nonsense
2.
poke borak at someone, to jeer at someone
Word Origin
from a native Australian language

borax

/ˈbɔːræks/
noun (pl) -raxes, -races (-rəˌsiːz)
1.
Also called tincal. a soluble readily fusible white mineral consisting of impure hydrated disodium tetraborate in monoclinic crystalline form, occurring in alkaline soils and salt deposits. Formula: Na2B4O7.10H2O
2.
pure disodium tetraborate
Word Origin
C14: from Old French boras, from Medieval Latin borax, from Arabic būraq, from Persian būrah
Word Origin and History for borax
n.

late 14c., from Anglo-French boras, from Medieval Latin baurach, from Arabic buraq, applied by the Arabs to various substances used as fluxes, probably from Persian burah. Originally obtained in Europe from the bed of salt lakes in Tibet.

borax in Medicine

borax bo·rax1 (bôr'āks', -əks)
n.
Sodium borate.

borax in Science
borax
  (bôr'āks')   
A white, crystalline powder and mineral used as an antiseptic, as a cleansing agent, and in fusing metals and making heat-resistant glass. The mineral is an ore of boron and also occurs in yellowish, blue, or green varieties. Chemical formula: Na2B4O7·10H2O.
Slang definitions & phrases for borax

borax

modifier

: strictly a piece of borax junk

noun
  1. Cheap or inferior material; shoddy merchandise
  2. Exaggeration; misrepresentation; horseshit •This may derive fr sense of the talk of borax salesmen, or it may be the ultimate source of all other senses: borak or borax, fr an aboriginal language, has been used in Australia since at least the 1840s to mean ''nonsense''; hence it might have developed (pejorated) to mean ''horseshit'' and found its way to the US
  3. Any gaudy item; tasteless bric-a-brac (1940s+)

[1920s+ Furniture business; origin unknown; it has been suggested that sellers of cleansers based on the mineral borax gave away cheap furniture to customers]