gault

See also: Gault

English

Etymology

Of local origin, used by quarrymen and brickmakers to refer to the type of soil. First attested in writing as "golt" in 1815 (William Smith) and "gault" in 1816 (J Hailstone).[1]

Noun

gault (countable and uncountable, plural gaults)

  1. A type of stiff, blue clay, sometimes used for making bricks.
    • 1901, Charles Kingsley, Two Years Ago, Volume I‎[2]:
      As he spoke, they turned off the main line of the rolling clays toward the foot of the chalk hills, and began to brush through short cuttings of blue gault and "green sand," so called by geologists, because its usual colours are bright brown, snow-white, and crimson.

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ Wilkinson, I.P. (2006) The holostratigraphy of the Albian Stage (Lower Cretaceous) of the United Kingdom and its continental shelf‎[1], British Geological Society

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