lapidary
Americannoun
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Also lapidist a worker who cuts, polishes, and engraves precious stones.
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Also lapidarist an expert in precious stones and the art or techniques used in cutting and engraving them.
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the art of cutting, polishing, and engraving precious stones.
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an old book on the lore of gems.
adjective
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of or relating to the cutting or engraving of precious stones.
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characterized by an exactitude and extreme refinement that suggests gem cutting.
a lapidary style; lapidary verse.
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of, relating to, or suggestive of inscriptions on stone monuments.
noun
adjective
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of or relating to gemstones or the work of a lapidary
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Also: lapidarian. engraved, cut, or inscribed in a stone or gemstone
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of sufficiently high quality to be engraved on a stone
a lapidary inscription
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lapidary
1325–75; Middle English lapidarie (noun) < Latin lapidārius of stone (adj.), stone-cutter (noun), equivalent to lapid- (stem of lapis ) stone + -ārius -ary
Explanation
The word lapidary relates to precious stones, especially the things people do with them such as cut, polish, and set them in a fancy bracelet. If you know someone who carves gems, engraves marble, or does other work with precious stones, then you know someone who does lapidary work. A lot of lapidary work involves making jewelry, but doing inscriptions in monuments is also lapidary. Someone who collects precious or rare stones has a lapidary hobby. You can also call a person who works with such stones a lapidary. Lapidary comes from the Latin word, lapis, for stone.
Vocabulary lists containing lapidary
In A Sedimental Mood: Rock and Gem Vocabulary
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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The Marvellers
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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.
Clarifying all of this was the lapidary statement of Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, a former wrestler and mixed martial artist who has been selected as Kristi Noem’s replacement at DHS.
From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026
Readers were clamoring for literary works that deployed irony, lapidary prose and an artful yet steely-eyed glimpse into the conflict.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2023
Outside of science, his interests included winemaking, lapidary work and cultivating orchids.
From Scientific American • Sep. 6, 2022
Kossakovsky — who shared cinematography duties with Egil Haskjold Larsen — holds on the still shot long enough for you to admire its lapidary detail and compositional symmetry.
From New York Times • Dec. 10, 2020
It would have been too much to hope for names from the lapidary in Paris.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
