See Also: dust(1)(dictionary)
dust-up(dictionary)
Dust(medicine)
dust(2)(dictionary)
Dust Bowl(encyclopedia)
dust 1, noun(dictionary)
dust 2, verb(dictionary)
dust bowl(dictionary)
dust bunny(dictionary)
dust cart(dictionary)

dust(1) (iou)



dust noun.
[Old English dust = Old Frisian dust, Middle Dutch donst, dust (Low German dust, Dutch duist meal-dust, bran), Old Norse dust. Cf. Old High German tun(i)st wind, breeze, Low German dunst vapour.]
Finely powdered earth or other matter lying on the ground or on surfaces, or carried about by the wind; any substance pulverized; fine particles of matter; an example of this. OE.
brick-dust, coal-dust, gold-dust, sawdust, stardust, etc.
J. Braine There wasn't one chip, one scratch, one speck of dust anywhere. E. Welty The peppering of red road dust on the old man's hat. U. Le Guin Drought had..dried the soil to a fine grey dust, that now rose up on every wind.
b. This and other household refuse. Usu. in comb., as dustbin, dustman, etc. E18.
c. Pollen; spores. L18.
fig.
a. (The material of) the human frame. (Cf. Genesis 2:7, 3:19.) arch. OE.
R. Grant Frail children of dust.
b. A dead person's remains. OE.
Shakespeare Hamlet May not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till 'a find it stopping a bung-hole?
c. As the type of that which is worthless or contemptible, or occupies the lowest position. ME.
C. N. Robinson The Navy that..humbled to the dust the pride of France.
A particle of matter, a pinch of something. Now rare. L16.
Shakespeare King John A grain, a dust, a gnat, a wandering hair.
A cloud of finely powdered earth or of other fine particles floating in the air; fig. confusion, turmoil, disturbance; slang a row, an uproar. L16.
T. Brown Quarrel and raise a Dust about nothing. R. Carson Drifting arsenic dusts..spread over neighbouring farms.
Money; cash. arch. slang. E17.
An act of cleaning by wiping off dust. L20.
Phrases (chiefly fig.): bite the dust: see BITE verb. bull-dust: see BULL noun1 & adjective. cosmic dust: see COSMIC 3. dry as dust: see DRY adjective. dust and ashes something very disappointing or disillusioning. happy dust: see HAPPY adjective. in the dust dead and buried. kiss the dust: see KISS verb. not see a person for dust find a person hastily departed. shake the dust off one's feet depart indignantly or disdainfully (cf. Matthew 10:14). throw dust in a person's eyes mislead a person by misrepresentation or by diverting attention from a point. wait until the dust settles wait until a situation calms down.
Comb.: dust-bath a bird's rolling in or sprinkling itself with dust to clean its feathers; dustbin a container for household refuse; dustbinman a dustman; dust bowl an area of land made unproductive by wind erosion of soil, esp. following loss of vegetation through drought, inappropriate farming practices, etc.; dust-box (a) arch. a box from which a fine powder is sprinkled on wet ink to dry it; (b) (chiefly Austral.) a dustbin; dust bunny N. Amer. colloq. a ball of dust and fluff; Dustbuster (chiefly N.Amer.) (proprietary name for) a hand-held battery-powered vacuum cleaner; dust-cap a cap to protect something from dust; dustcart a vehicle for collecting household refuse; dust-cloth: put over things as a protection from dust; dust-coat: worn as a protection against dust; dust-colour dull light brown; dust cover a removable cover to protect furniture etc. from dust; a dust-jacket; dust devil: see DEVIL noun 12; dust disease colloq. pneumoconiosis; dustheap a heap of household refuse; dust-jacket: see JACKET noun 3b; dustman (a) a man employed to remove refuse from dustbins; (b) a sandman; dustpan a hand-held receptacle into which dust can be brushed from the floor; dust-sheet a cover to protect furniture etc. from dust; dust-shot the smallest size of gunshot; dust-storm a dry storm in which clouds of dust or sand are raised and carried along; dust-trap something in or on or under which dust readily collects; dust-up colloq. a fight, a disturbance; dust-wrapper a dust-jacket.
dustless adjective E17.