ETYM AS. claeg; akin to LG. klei, Dutch klei, and perh. to AS. clâm clay, Latin glus, gluten glue, Greek gloios glutinous substance, Eng. glue. Related to Clog.
Very fine-grained sedimentary deposit that has undergone a greater or lesser degree of consolidation. When moistened it is plastic, and it hardens on heating, which renders it impermeable. It may be white, gray, red, yellow, blue, or black, depending on its composition. Clay minerals consist largely of hydrous silicates of aluminum and magnesium together with iron, potassium, sodium, and organic substances. The crystals of clay minerals have a layered structure, capable of holding water, and are responsible for its plastic properties. According to international classification, in mechanical analysis of soil, clay has a grain size of less than 0.002 mm/0.00008 in.
Types of clay include adobe, alluvial clay, building clay, brick, cement, kaolinite, ferruginous clay, fireclay, fusible clay, puddle clay, refractory clay, and vitrifiable clay. Clays have a variety of uses, some of which, such as pottery and bricks, date back to prehistoric times.
Soil that is plastic when moist but hard when fired.

Clay court.

(1897-1978) US commander in chief of the US occupation forces in Germany 1947–49. He broke the Soviet blockade of Berlin 1948 after 327 days, with an airlift—a term he brought into general use—which involved bringing all supplies into West Berlin by air.

(1777-1852) US politician. He stood unsuccessfully three times for the presidency: as a Democratic-Republican 1824, as a National Republican 1832, and as a Whig 1844. He supported the war of 1812 against Britain, and tried to hold the Union together on the slavery issue by the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and again in the compromise of 1850. He was secretary of state 1825–29 and devised an “American system” for the national economy.
A powerful orator, he was a strong leader of the House of Representatives. He fought a duel over the accusation that he had struck a corrupt deal with John Quincy Adams to ensure the latter would be named president by the House in 1824.

(1838-1889) English composer. Clay wrote light operas and the cantata Lalla Rookh 1877, based on a poem by Thomas Moore.

Jr, Original name of boxer Mohammed Ali.

1. City in Kentucky (USA); zip code 42404.
2. Town in West Virginia (USA); zip code 25043.