calcareous

[kal-kair-ee-uh s] /kælˈkɛər i əs/

adjective

of, containing, or like calcium carbonate; chalky:

calcareous earth.

Origin

1670-80; variant of calcarious < Latin calcārius of lime; see calx, -arious

Related forms

calcareously, adverb

calcareousness, noun

noncalcareous, adjective

subcalcareous, adjective

uncalcareous, adjective

Examples from the web for calcareous

If calcareous algae and copepods are decreasing in number and virility then this affects the entire food chain.
Anchored to the bottom inside calcareous tubes, they collected food particles with feathery arms that waved in the ocean currents.
Forams are an integral part of paleoclimatological research because their calcareous shells can be dated.
The beach was beautiful, with an enormous piece of calcareous mountain at the point.
The light sediment consisted mostly of calcareous foram shells, deposited in a period of relatively equable climate.
calcareous nannofossils are fossil remains of golden-brown, single-celled algae that live in the oceans.

British Dictionary definitions for calcareous

/kælˈkɛərɪəs/

adjective

of, containing, or resembling calcium carbonate; chalky

Word Origin

C17: from Latin calcārius, from calx lime

Word Origin and History for calcareous

adj.

also calcarious, 1670s, from Latin calcarius "of lime," from calx (genitive calcis) "lime, limestone" (see chalk (n.)).

calcareous in Medicine

calcareous cal·car·e·ous (kāl-kâr'ē-əs)
adj.
Composed of, containing, or characteristic of calcium carbonate, calcium, or limestone; chalky.

calcareous in Science

calcareous

(kāl-kâr'ē-əs)
Composed of or containing calcium or calcium carbonate. Calcareous rocks contain as much as 50 percent calcium carbonate.