1. a soft white claylike material consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate, found chiefly in Turkey.
▪ a tobacco pipe with a bowl made from meerschaum.
Word Originlate 18th century: from German, literally ‘sea foam’, from Meer ‘sea’ + Schaum ‘foam’, translation of Persian kef-i-daryā (alluding to the frothy appearance of the silicate).