kohl

A sample of kohl

A food seller from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and his granddaughter with kohl-lined eyes

From Arabic كُحْل (kuḥl, “antimony; kohl, stibnite (powdered antimony)”). Doublet of alcohol and alcool.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kəʊl/, /kɔʊl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /koʊl/
• Homophones: coal, cole
• Rhymes: -əʊl

kohl (uncountable)

1. A dark powder, usually powdered antimony, used as eye makeup, especially in Eastern countries; stibnite.

• stibnite

• kohl pencil

kohl (third-person singular simple present kohls, present participle kohling, simple past and past participle kohled)

1. (transitive) To decorate one's eyes with kohl.
   • 2002, Zadie Smith, The Autograph Man, Penguin Books (2003), page 241:

     A plain, big woman with heavily kohled eyes and pudgy arms.

• kohl rabi (etymologically unrelated)

• kohl (cosmetics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• holk