means A very soft mineral made of hydrated magnesium silicate, ground into the fine slippery powder used in talcum and cosmetics.

from From French talc, borrowed from Medieval Latin talcum, which came through Arabic ṭalq — a word the Arabs in turn likely took from Persian. It traveled west along the same scholarly routes as so much mineral and alchemical knowledge, the soft stone keeping its soft-sounding name across every border.