celadon

American  

[sel-uh-don, -dn] / ˈsɛl əˌdɒn, -dn /

noun

1. any of several Chinese porcelains having a translucent, pale green glaze.

2. any porcelain imitating these.

3. a pale gray-green.

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adjective

1. having the color celadon.

celadon British  

/ ˈsɛləˌdɒn /

noun

1. a type of porcelain having a greyish-green glaze: mainly Chinese

2. a pale greyish-green colour, sometimes somewhat yellow

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Etymology

Origin of celadon

First recorded in 1760–70; named after Céladon, name of a character in L' Astrée, a tale by Honoré d'Urfé (1568–1625), French writer

Explanation

Celadon is a soft, grayish green color. It's also the name of a kind of pottery that has a celadon-colored glaze. The word celadon was coined to describe the pale jade glaze, which is often deliberately scattered with fine cracks. It comes from a character in a 17th-century French romantic novel, a shepherd and sentimental hero named Céladon who is described as wearing green clothing. Celadon pottery is still popular today, and so is the color; you can find clothing, wall paint, and nail polish in celadon.

Example Sentences

At Pearl Lam, the delicate craquelure of the monochrome panels by Su Xiaobai connects them to historic painting and celadon pottery.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

Behind him, a young servant arrives with a snack, while books and a celadon vase have been laid out for study on a nearby table.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2023

The circular, celadon, shag-carpeted meditation dome is tricked out with crystals and a James Turrell-like light installation.

From Washington Post • Feb. 5, 2020

Among the great old standbys is Alma Thomas’s “Red Roses Sonata,” of 1972, owned by the Met since 1976, its red mosaic pattern lighted from within by shifting shades of celadon.

From New York Times • Dec. 20, 2018

Spotting the vases, he chipped the encrustation off one of them and was convinced what he was holding in his hands was celadon, an extremely valuable East Asian stoneware characterized by its beautiful blue-green glaze.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler