noun
also ka·oline ˈkāələ̇n, kāˈōl-
( -s )
Etymology: French kaolin, from Kao-ling, hill in Kiangsi province, southeast China, where it was originally obtained
: a fine usually white clay resulting from extreme weathering of aluminous minerals (as feldspar) that contains kaolinite as its principal constituent, that remains white on firing, and that is used chiefly in ceramics and refractories, as an adsorbent, as a filler or extender (as in paper or rubber or pigments), and in medicine — see china clay ; compare fireclay