ceruse means synonym of white lead, a hydrate of lead mixed with carbonate, particularly as used to whiten skin or in early medicine. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 93 out of 100.
ceruse is pronounced /sɪˈɹuːs/.
Why “ceruse” is a great word
CERUSE — [Noun] A cosmetic and pigment, also known as white lead, composed of a poisonous mixture of lead carbonate and lead hydroxide. From Middle English, from Middle French céruse, from Latin cērussa, a variant of cērūsa. Unlike "kaolin" (an inert, harmless clay) or "rouge" (a localized, rosy tint), ceruse was a pervasive, toxic foundation for an ideal of pallor. It is the spectral powder of a court portrait, the brittle crust cracking at the corner of a painted smile, and the slow, sweet ache of lead in the bones—beauty purchased not with gold, but with the gradual mortgaging of the body.
Etymology
From French céruse, from Latin cērusa, variant of cērussa, q.v.
noun
- Synonym of white lead, a hydrate of lead mixed with carbonate, particularly as used to whiten skin or in early medicine.“Galen hath taken exceptions at such waters which run through leaden pipes, ob cerussam quæ in iis generatur, for that unctuous ceruse, which causeth dysenteries and fluxes […].”