CHALKY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does chalky mean? 

• CHALKY (adjective)
  The adjective CHALKY has 2 senses:

1. composed of or containing or resembling calcium carbonate or calcite or chalk

2. of something having the color of chalk

  Familiarity information: CHALKY used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CHALKY (adjective)

Comparative: chalkier   
Superlative: chalkiest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Composed of or containing or resembling calcium carbonate or calcite or chalk

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Synonyms:

calcareous; chalky

Pertainym:

calcium carbonate (a salt found in nature as chalk or calcite or aragonite or limestone)

Derivation:

chalk (a piece of calcite or a similar substance, usually in the shape of a crayon, that is used to write or draw on blackboards or other flat surfaces)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Of something having the color of chalk

Context example:

she turned chalky white

Similar:

achromatic; neutral (having no hue)

Derivation:

chalk (a pure flat white with little reflectance)

chalk (a soft whitish calcite)

 Context examples 

It was of a livid chalky white, and with something set and rigid about it which was shockingly unnatural.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)