terracotta

Or ter·ra-cot·ta
ter·ra cot·ta

[ter-uh-kot-uh]

noun

1. a hard, fired clay, brownish-red in color when unglazed, that is used for architectural ornaments and facings, structural units, pottery, and as a material for sculpture.

2. something made of terracotta.

3. a brownish-orange color like that of unglazed terracotta.

adjective

1. made of or having the color of terracotta.

terracotta

/ ˌtɛrəˈkɒtə /

noun

1. a hard unglazed brownish-red earthenware, or the clay from which it is made

2. something made of terracotta, such as a sculpture

3. a strong reddish-brown to brownish-orange colour

adjective

1. made of terracotta

   a terracotta urn

2. of the colour terracotta

   a terracotta carpet

Word History and Origins

Origin of terracotta¹

First recorded in 1715–25; from Italian: literally, “baked earth, cooked earth,” from Latin terra cocta; thirsty, cook ¹ ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of terracotta¹

C18: from Italian, literally: baked earth

Example Sentences

China has long awed visitors with wonders such as the Great Wall and the terracotta warriors buried in an ancient tomb.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The off-white form of the rustic terracotta jar, shattered over millenniums and fastidiously reassembled, is elegantly decorated in rich brown and black designs, including bursts of rosettes and abstract squiggles.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Since 2014, 10 excavation rounds at Keeladi have uncovered over 15,000 artefacts - burial urns, coins, beads, terracotta pipes and more - from just four of the 100 marked acres.

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George Osborne, the British Museum's chair of trustees, told the BBC the exhibition "will be the blockbuster show of our generation" - like Tutankhamun and the Terracotta Warriors in the past.

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That is what is in my mind as he greets me in the Terracotta Room on the first floor of 10 Downing Street for a long-planned conversation about his first 12 months in office, this week.

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