majolica

American  

[muh-jol-i-kuh, muh-yol-] / məˈdʒɒl ɪ kə, məˈyɒl- /

noun

1. Italian earthenware covered with an opaque glaze of tin oxide and usually highly decorated.

2. any earthenware having an opaque glaze of tin oxide.

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majolica British  

/ məˈdʒɒlɪkə, məˈjɒl- /

noun

1. a type of porous pottery glazed with bright metallic oxides that was originally imported into Italy via Majorca and was extensively made in Italy during the Renaissance

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Etymology

Origin of majolica

1545–55; ear-lier maiolica < Italian < Medieval Latin, variant of Late Latin Mājorica Majorca, where it was made

Example Sentences

Brent Poer and Beau Quillian’s historic home is an exuberant collage of Hermès plates, Black Forest antlers, Staffordshire porcelain figurines, majolica plates and art that has been lovingly curated.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Her technique is the centuries-old majolica, in which she fires her creatures and then dips them in a tin oxide glazing solution that lends an opaque white finish.

From New York Times • Aug. 19, 2021

Irwin's porcelain and earthenware "Dusky Seaside Sparrow" borrows the manner of Italian majolica portrait plates to pay homage to a species forced into extinction when development destroyed its habitat and nesting grounds.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2017

Several clients were wearing dresses with majolica patterns, which figured not only in last year’s Alta Moda collection but also in this summer’s ready-to-wear.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 21, 2015

There are, however, some artistic industries in and around the city, of which the most important is the Ginori-Richard porcelain works, and the Cantagalli majolica works.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various