lapidary

American  

[lap-i-der-ee] / ˈlæp ɪˌdɛr i /

noun

lapidaries plural

1. Also lapidist a worker who cuts, polishes, and engraves precious stones.

2. Also lapidarist an expert in precious stones and the art or techniques used in cutting and engraving them.

3. the art of cutting, polishing, and engraving precious stones.

4. an old book on the lore of gems.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the cutting or engraving of precious stones.

2. characterized by an exactitude and extreme refinement that suggests gem cutting.

   a lapidary style; lapidary verse.

3. of, relating to, or suggestive of inscriptions on stone monuments.

lapidary British  

/ ˈlæpɪdərɪ /

noun

1. a person whose business is to cut, polish, set, or deal in gemstones

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adjective

1. of or relating to gemstones or the work of a lapidary

2. Also: lapidarian.  engraved, cut, or inscribed in a stone or gemstone

3. of sufficiently high quality to be engraved on a stone

   a lapidary inscription

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lapidarian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lapidaries
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lapidary lapidaries

There’s a lapidary quality to Mr. Pence’s manifesto, and it’s worth noting that he invokes Isaiah: “look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

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

Its heyday was in the 1950s, when there were an estimated 2 million home lapidary shops in operation across the nation, and rockhounding was encouraged by the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2023

His books, most written in the first person, are lapidary, intricate, Nabokovian.

From New York Times ● Oct. 1, 2020

Bernabe rolled the concept of painted cattleguards around in his brain the way a lapidary rolls a rough stone around in a rock tumbler to make it smooth.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Two layered discs carved out of Dalmatian jasper support a pink-hued thulite bowl; the materials were selected by the brand’s gemologists and cut and polished by lapidaries to bring out their full character.

From New York Times ● May 9, 2024

Amateur lapidaries order rough masses of aquamarine, rose quartz, agate.

From Time Magazine Archive

U.S. prisons were to be the ultimate social experiment, where lapidaries of the soul would smooth and polish criminals.

From Time Magazine Archive

He had to call in professional lapidaries to help with the cutting and polishing, but still managed to turn out some 100 pieces in his own workshop.

From Time Magazine Archive

Over the past weeks in Paris, in the hours between other tasks, he has narrowed a list of seven lapidaries to three, then to one: a half-Algerian named Dupont who came of age cutting opal.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr