blanco
/ˈblaŋkəʊ
/British
noun [mass noun]
A white substance used for whitening belts and other items of military equipment.Neither pipeclay nor blanco reacted well to rain, and many men who fought at Waterloo, where it rained heavily the night before the battle, had uniforms streaked with pipeclay.
verb (blancoes, blancoing, blancoed) [with object]
Whiten (equipment) with blanco: (as adjective blancoed) white blancoed webbing...
- All that was missing were legionnaires in blue tunics and white kepis, with blancoed webbing straps attaching grey army blankets to their backs as they drilled under the Saharan sun.
- Resplendent in a new battledress with yellow blancoed belt and gaiters I was escorted up to the General.
- Their boots, ever so slightly worn and scuffed, but well kept, were highly blancoed and ready for play.
Origin
Late 19th century: from French blanc 'white', ultimately of Germanic origin.