Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AM'I-ANTH, or AM-I-ANT'US, n. [Gr. αμιαντος, of α neg. and μιαινω, to pollute or vitiate; so called from its incombustibility. – Plin. 36. 19.]

Earth-flax, or mountain-flax; a mineral substance somewhat resembling flax; usually grayish, or of a greenish white; sometimes of a yellowish or silvery white, olive or mountain green, of a pale flesh red or ocher color. It is composed of delicate filaments, very flexible and somewhat elastic, often long, and resembling threads of silk. It is incombustible, and has sometimes been wrought into cloth and paper. – Kirwan. Encyc. Cleaveland.