A heat-resistant clay used to make fireproof bricks, crucibles, and furnace linings in kilns and industrial furnaces.
Compound of 'fire' and 'clay' (from Old English 'clæg'). The term emerged in the 18th century as industrialists needed specialized materials to line furnaces that reached extreme temperatures during steel and pottery production.
Fireclay is one of those quiet heroes of industrialization—without it, we couldn't have built furnaces hot enough to shape steel or glass, making it essential to the entire Industrial Revolution even though most people have never heard the word.
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