murrhine

American

[mur-in, -ahyn] / ˈmɜr ɪn, -aɪn /

Or murrine

adjective

of, relating to, or manufactured of murra.

murrhine British

/ -ɪn, ˈmʌraɪn /

adjective

of or relating to an unknown substance used in ancient Rome to make vases, cups, etc

"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

noun

Also called: murra. the substance so used

"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 murrhine

1570–80; < Latin murr ( h ) inus, for Greek mourrínē, equivalent to mórr ( ia ) murra + -inē feminine noun suffix; -ine 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.

Nero paid three hundred talents for a murrhine vase.

From Project Gutenberg

Sometimes purple glass is used in place of brown, probably with the design of imitating the precious murrhine.

From Project Gutenberg

F. Corsi, the eminent Italian antiquary, held that fluor-spar was the material of the famous murrhine vases.

From Project Gutenberg

They were murrhine cups, brought from Asia at a great price, of mysterious fabrication, into which entered the dust of certain shells, and myrrh, hardened and tinted.

From Project Gutenberg

Feasting within the music of my halls, While perfumed beauty danced in sinuous robes, Diaphanous, more silken than those famed Of loomed Amorgos or of classic Kos, Draining the unflawed murrhine, Xeres-brimmed, Had I reeled poisoned, dying wolfsbane-slain!

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023