Dictionary
cal'cium car'bide
a grayish-black, lumpy, crystalline powder, CaC
2, usually derived from coke or anthracite by reaction with limestone or quicklime: used chiefly for the generation of acetylene, which it yields upon decomposing in water. Also called
carbide. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.