MIN'IUM, noun [Latin] The red oxyd of lead, produced by calcination. Lead exposed to air while melting is covered with a gray dusky pellicle. This taken off and agitated becomes a greenish gray powder, inclining to yellow. This oxyd, separated by sifting from the grains of lead which it contains, and exposed to a more intense heat, takes a deep yellow color, and in this state it is called massicot. The latter, slowly heated, takes a beautiful red color, and is called minium
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI