Spanish word

cal

Pronunciation

IPA/kal/

Meaning

  • feminine nounlime

Example

Necesitamos cal para blanquear la pared.

We need lime to whitewash the wall.

Illustration for cal (lime)

More examples

No uses cal sin guantes, puede irritar la piel.

Do not use lime without gloves, it can irritate the skin.

Core concept

White powder or lumps used to whiten walls and stabilize soil.

Common phrases

  • echar cal

    sprinkle lime

  • pintar con cal

    paint with lime

  • mezclar cal con agua

    mix lime with water

Similar words

yeso: Fine gypsum powder that sets hard and yields a smooth, paint-like wall finish.
cemento: Finely ground binder that, combined with aggregates, cures into a hard construction paste.
cal viva: Unprocessed quick-reacting white oxide that heats up and reacts vigorously on contact with water.
caliza: Light-colored carbonate rock extracted for use as a mineral resource in building and industry.

Definition in Spanish

Producto blanco resultante de calcinar piedra caliza, empleado para blanquear paredes, estabilizar suelos y en obras, cuyo uso y manipulación dependen de si es cal viva o cal apagada.

Word origin

From Latin calx 'lime', Spanish cal names the material produced by calcining limestone and is later distinguished by treatment into quicklime and slaked lime.

Usage tips

  • Frequently collocates with verbs such as echar cal and poner cal in building contexts, and cal viva (quicklime) and cal apagada (slaked lime) require different handling.

Other meanings

  • slaked limenoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word