putty

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
putty/ˈpʌti/

▶noun

• 1 a malleable paste, made from ground chalk and raw linseed oil, that gradually hardens and is used for sealing glass in window frames.

  ■ a malleable substance used as a filler, modelling material, etc.

• 2 a polishing powder, usually made from tin oxide, used in jewellery work.

▶verb (putties, puttying, puttied) seal or cover with putty.

– phrases
be (like) putty in someone's hands be easily manipulated by someone.

– origin C17: from Fr. potée, lit. ‘potful’.