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earthenware

American  
[ur-thuhn-wair] / ˈɜr θənˌwɛər /

noun

  1. pottery of baked or hardened clay, especially any of the coarse, opaque varieties.

  2. clay for making such pottery.


earthenware British  
/ ˈɜːθənˌwɛə /

noun

    1. vessels, etc, made of baked clay

    2. ( as adjective )

      an earthenware pot

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of earthenware

First recorded in 1640–50; earthen + ware 1

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.

See Examples For:

The Mexican hairless dog was believed to guide people on the journey from life to death, but Govan said LACMA’s 2,000 year-old earthenware example feels “friendly and relatable.”

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 1, 2026

Sifting through the remains of a Gaulish village on cliff-tops near Dieppe on Monday, they uncovered an earthenware pot containing a small glass flask.

From BBC Sep. 19, 2024

Highly hierarchical, with powerful masters of time who encoded astronomical knowledge in the Nebra Sky Disc, they developed specialised crafts, such as earthenware.

From Science Daily May 21, 2024

She calls the preparation a “tian,” a French Provençal term that refers to a shallow round earthenware vessel, as well as the dishes baked in it.

From Washington Times Dec. 13, 2023

Such arguments depended on analogies: comparing the skin, for example, to porous earthenware.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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