kəˈlēchē noun
( -s )
Etymology: American Spanish, from Spanish, pebble in a brick, flake of lime, from cal lime, from Latin calx — more at chalk
1. : the nitrate-bearing gravel or rock of the sodium nitrate deposits of Chile and Peru
2. : a crust or succession of crusts of calcium carbonate that forms within or on top of the stony soil of arid or semiarid regions