ceruse
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of ceruse
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cērussa
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Male members of the court of Louis XIV in France painted on beauty marks, while Elizabethan Englishmen powdered their faces with ceruse, a toxic mixture of vinegar and white lead.
From New York Times • May 10, 2021
Religious writers made the use of ceruse and other cosmetics a particular concern.
From Slate • Dec. 6, 2018
Other whitening preparations included powdered borax and sulphur, but ceruse was the most effective.
From Slate • Dec. 6, 2018
But, Anna Riehl argues, there are very few contemporary testimonies to Elizabeth’s supposed ceruse overuse.
From Slate • Dec. 6, 2018
Some can speak, And call the heavens to record, when their fancy, Mere planet-struck, has fix'd their influence On various objects: this deludes poor wenches, And makes them melt like ceruse!
From A Select Collection of Old English Plays Volume 14 of 15 by Dodsley, Robert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
