dust

Etymology

From Middle English dust, doust, from Old English dūst (“dust, dried earth reduced to powder; other dry material reduced to powder”), from the fusion of Proto-Germanic *dustą (“dust”) and *dunstą (“mist, dust, evaporation”), both from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, raise dust”). Cognate with Scots dust, dist (“dust”), Dutch duist (“pollen, dust”) and dons (“down, fuzz”), German Dust (“dust”) and Dunst (“haze”), Swedish dust (“dust”), Icelandic dust (“dust”), Latin fūmus (“smoke, steam”). Also related to Swedish dun (“down, fluff”), Icelandic dúnn (“down, fluff”). See down.

noun

1. Fine particles
   1. (uncountable) Fine, dry particles of matter found in the air and covering the surface of objects, typically consisting of soil lifted up by the wind, pollen, hair, etc.
      There is so much dust released during the process of laying ballast that the trackside operator wears a full face mask with respirator. September 7 2022, “East-West track laying heads westwards”, in RAIL, number 965, page 37, photo caption
   2. (astronomy, uncountable) Submicron particles in outer space, largely silicates and carbon compounds, that contribute greatly to extinction at visible wavelengths.
      Astronomers have previously considered that dust produced by the star was obscuring it, causing the steep decline in brightness. June 29, 2020, Paun Rincon, “Betelgeuse: Nearby 'supernova' star's dimming explained”, in BBC News
   3. (obsolete) A single particle of earth or other material.
2. (countable) The act of cleaning by dusting.
   […]once they start school, I mean you can do a room out one day, the next day it only needs a dust, doesn't it? 2010, Joan Busfield, Michael Paddon, Thinking About Children: Sociology and Fertility in Post-War England, page 150
3. The earth, as the resting place of the dead.
4. The earthy remains of bodies once alive; the remains of the human body.
5. (figurative) Something worthless.
6. (figurative) A low or mean condition.
7. (slang, dated) cash; money (in reference to gold dust).
   'And what do you ask for it?' 'Fifteen thousand dollars.' 'I'll take it.' 'Then down with the dust.' 1852, George Colvocoresses, Four Years in a Government Exploring Expedition
8. (colloquial) A disturbance or uproar.
   to raise, or kick up, a dust
9. (mathematics) A totally disconnected set of points with a fractal structure.

verb

1. (transitive) To remove dust from.
   The cleaning lady needs a stool to dust the cupboard.
2. (intransitive) To remove dust; to clean by removing dust.
   Dusting always makes me cough.
3. (intransitive) Of a bird, to cover itself in sand or dry, dusty earth.
4. (transitive) To spray or cover something with fine powder or liquid.
   The mother dusted her baby's bum with talcum powder.
5. (chiefly US slang) To leave; to rush off.
   He added in a casual tone: ‘The girl can dust. I'd like to talk to you a little, soldier.’ 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin, published 2011, page 75
6. To reduce to a fine powder; to levigate.
   good Powder differs from bad […]in having more Peter and less Coal; and lastly, in the well dusting of it 1667, Thomas Sprat, History of the Royal Society of London
7. (slang) To kill.
   Kyle Reese: You have to be careful because the [Hunter-Killer robots] use infrared. They're not too bright. John taught us ways to dust them. 1984, The Terminator, spoken by Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), Los Angeles, Calif.: Orion Pictures; distributed by MGM Home Entertainment, published 1984