kaolin: [18] The word kaolin comes ultimately from gaō ling, the name of a hill in Jiangxi province, northern China, from which fine white china clay was first obtained (it means literally ‘high hill’). It reached English via French.
"china clay," 1727, from French kaolin (1712), from Chinese Kao-ling, old-style transliteration of the name of a mountain in Jiangxi, China (near which it was originally dug up), from Chinese gao "high" + ling "mountain, hill."