puddling

Puddle \Pud"dle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Puddled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Puddling}.]
   1. To make foul or muddy; to pollute with dirt; to mix dirt
      with (water).
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            Some unhatched practice . . .
            Hath puddled his clear spirit.        --Shak.
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   2.
      (a) To make dense or close, as clay or loam, by working
          when wet, so as to render impervious to water.
      (b) To make impervious to liquids by means of puddle; to
          apply puddle to.
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   3. To subject to the process of puddling, as iron, so as to
      convert it from the condition of cast iron to that of
      wrought iron. --Ure.
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   {Puddled steel}, steel made directly from cast iron by a
      modification of the puddling process.
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Puddling \Pud"dling\, n.
   1. (Hydraul. Engin.)
      (a) The process of working clay, loam, pulverized ore,
          etc., with water, to render it compact, or impervious
          to liquids; also, the process of rendering anything
          impervious to liquids by means of puddled material.
      (b) Puddle. See {Puddle}, n., 2.
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   2. (Metal.) The art or process of converting cast iron into
      wrought iron or steel by subjecting it to intense heat and
      frequent stirring in a reverberatory furnace in the
      presence of oxidizing substances, by which it is freed
      from a portion of its carbon and other impurities.
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   {Puddling furnace}, a reverberatory furnace in which cast
      iron is converted into wrought iron or into steel by
      puddling.
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