Em"er*y (?), n. [F. 'emeri, earlier 'emeril, It. smeriglio, fr. Gr. , , , cf. to wipe; perh. akin to E. smear. Cf. Emeril.] Min.
Corundum in the form of grains or powder, used in the arts for grinding and polishing hard substances. Native emery is mixed with more or less magnetic iron. See the Note under Corundum.
Emery board, cardboard pulp mixed with emery and molded into convenient. -- Emery cloth ∨ paper, cloth or paper on which the powder of emery is spread and glued for scouring and polishing. -- Emery wheel, a wheel containing emery, or having a surface of emery. In machine shops, it is sometimes called a buff wheel, and by the manufacturers of cutlery, a glazer.
© Webster 1913.