alabaster
[ al-uh-bas-ter, -bah-ster ]
/ ˈæl əˌbæs tər, -ˌbɑ stər /
noun
a finely granular variety of gypsum, often white and translucent, used for ornamental objects or work, such as lamp bases, figurines, etc.
Also called Oriental alabaster. a variety of calcite, often banded, used or sold as alabaster.
adjective Also al·a·bas·trine [al-uh-bas-trin] /ˌæl əˈbæs trɪn/.
made of alabaster: an alabaster column.
resembling alabaster; smooth and white: her alabaster throat.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- ala.,
- alabama,
- alabamian,
- alabamine,
- alabandite,
- alabastos,
- alabastrine,
- alabastron,
- alabastrum,
- alacant
Origin of alabaster
1350–1400; < Latin < Greek alábastros; replacing Middle English alabastre < Middle French < Latin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for alabaster
alabaster
/ (ˈæləˌbɑːstə, -ˌbæstə) /
noun
a fine-grained usually white, opaque, or translucent variety of gypsum used for statues, vases, etc
a variety of hard semitranslucent calcite, often banded like marble
adjective
of or resembling alabaster
Word Origin for alabaster
C14: from Old French alabastre, from Latin alabaster, from Greek alabastros
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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alabaster
translucent whitish kind of gypsum used for vases, ornaments, and busts, late 14c., from Old French alabastre (12c., Modern French albâtre), from Latin alabaster "colored rock used to make boxes and vessels for unguents," from Greek alabastros (earlier albatos) "vase for perfumes," perhaps from Egyptian 'a-labaste "vessel of the goddess Bast." Used figuratively for whiteness and smoothness from 1570s. "The spelling in 16-17th c. is almost always alablaster ..." [OED].
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper