ˈkalsēəm noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin calc-, calx lime + New Latin -ium — more at chalk
1. : a silver-white rather soft bivalent metallic element of the alkaline-earth group that quickly tarnishes in air and when heated burns with a brilliant light, used chiefly in alloys and in various metallurgical processes, often as a scavenger, and never occurring native but very common in combination in certain minerals and rocks, especially as a carbonate (as in limestone), sulfate, or phosphate, in practically all natural waters, and in most animals and plants as an essential constituent — symbol Ca ; see element table
2.
a. : a very strong white light source given by lime heated to incandescence in an oxyhydrogen flame — compare limelight
b. : the flame of acetylene gas generated by reaction of calcium carbide with water