English Explanatory Dictionary

porcelain

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A hard white translucent ceramic, originally made by firing kaolin, quartz, and feldspar at high temperatures but now also inclusive of similar artificial materials; also often (figurative) such a material as a symbol of the fragility, elegance, etc. traditionally associated with porcelain goods.
  2. Synonym of china: porcelain tableware.
  3. Synonym of kaolin: the kind of clay traditionally used in China to manufacture porcelain.
  4. An object made of porcelain, (particularly) art objects or items of tableware.
  5. Synonym of cowrie.
  6. Synonym of wampum: strings of shells, beads, etc. used as ornamentation or currency; the composite shells, beads, etc.
  7. A kind of pigeon with deep brown and off-white feathers.
verb
  1. To coat with a porcelain enamel.

Pronunciation

/ˈpɔːsəlɪn/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-porcelain.wav /ˈpɔɹs(ə)lɪn/ /ˈpɔɹs(ə)lən/ /ˈpoːs(ɘ)lɘn/

Word forms

porcelain porcelains porcelaining porcelained

Etymology

From Middle French porcelaine (“cowrie, wampum; china, chinaware”), from Old Italian porcellana (“cowrie; china, chinaware”), from porcella (“female piglet”) + -ana. The material was so called because of its resemblance to the shell of the cowrie. Why the cowrie was named with a word meaning “piglet” is unclear.

Synonyms

china chinaware kaolin cowrie wampum

Derived words

bow down before the porcelain god Chantilly porcelain drive the porcelain bus ivory porcelain Plymouth porcelain point Percy at the porcelain porcelain aorta porcelainberry porcelain blue porcelain bus porcelain cement porcelain clay porcelain color porcelain crab porcelain doll porcelain earth porcelain god porcelain goddess porcelain grain porcelainist porcelainite porcelainize porcelain jasper porcelain kiln porcelain lace porcelainlike porcelain-maker porcelain-making porcelain oven porcelain paper porcelain printing porcelain shell porcelain skin porcelain spar porcelain-tinted porcelain tooth porcelain ware porcelainware porcelain-white porcelaneous pray to the porcelain god pray to the porcelain goddess protoporcelain semiporcelain tender porcelain worship the porcelain god worship the porcelain goddess
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