porcelain

[ pawr-suh-lin, pohr-; pawrs-lin, pohrs- ]

/ ˈpɔr sə lɪn, ˈpoʊr-; ˈpɔrs lɪn, ˈpoʊrs- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR porcelain ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a strong, vitreous, translucent ceramic material, biscuit-fired at a low temperature, the glaze then fired at a very high temperature.

ware made from this.

Words nearby porcelain

por favor, porae, porangi, porbandar, porbeagle, porcelain, porcelain clay, porcelain enamel, porcelainite, porcelainize, porch

Origin of porcelain

1520–30; < French porcelaine < Italian porcellana orig., a type of cowry shell, apparently likened to the vulva of a sow, noun use of feminine of porcellano of a young sow, equivalent to porcell(a), diminutive of porca sow (see pork, -elle) + -ano -an

OTHER WORDS FROM porcelain

por·ce·la·ne·ous, por·cel·la·ne·ous

[pawr-suh-ley-nee-uh s, pohr-] /ˌpɔr səˈleɪ ni əs, ˌpoʊr-/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for porcelain

Goldblum, himself looking prim with a porcelain saucer and teacup in hand, says he found this “wildly touching.”
Jeff Goldblum Says Justin Bieber Should Play Him in ‘Jurassic Park’ Reboot|Melissa Leon|March 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So how the hell do you work with a Belle Époque, over-the-top, over-gilded house full of French porcelain and furniture?
The Writer and the Potter: Edmund De Waal on his New York Debut|Iain Millar|September 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This is done by an artist who looks at the makeup [from the show] and replicates it onto the porcelain.
Inside Viktor & Rolf’s Dollhouse|Isabel Wilkinson|June 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It eats through and corrodes the porcelain and then the wood flooring beneath it and, boom, down it comes.
Bryan Cranston Picks 13 Favorite ‘Breaking Bad’ Moments|Bryan Cranston|July 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Her skin was porcelain, her cheeks hollow, and her hair had been cut into high, blunt bangs.
The Great Transformation of Rooney Mara Into Lisbeth Salander|Isabel Wilkinson|January 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Porcelain bath tubs and running hot water were found in Hongkong, the first we noted since leaving South Africa.
Seven Legs Across the Seas|Samuel Murray
The glass and porcelain money on Yap must have come from China or Japan.
Folkways|William Graham Sumner
He chanced to take the direction to a recess between the book-case and the porcelain cabinet.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 1 (of 4)|Jane Porter
"Good gracious," said the hen when she discovered a porcelain egg on the nest.
The New Pun Book|Thomas A. Brown and Thomas Joseph Carey
She approached the Porcelain in a chastened mood that Sabbath morning.
Ade's Fables|George Ade

British Dictionary definitions for porcelain

porcelain

/ (ˈpɔːslɪn, -leɪn, ˈpɔːsə-) /

noun

a more or less translucent ceramic material, the principal ingredients being kaolin and petuntse (hard paste) or other clays, ground glassy substances, soapstone, bone ash, etc

an object made of this or such objects collectively

(modifier) of, relating to, or made from this materiala porcelain cup

Derived forms of porcelain

porcellaneous (ˌpɔːsəˈleɪnɪəs), adjective

Word Origin for porcelain

C16: from French porcelaine, from Italian porcellana cowrie shell, porcelain (from its shell-like finish), literally: relating to a sow (from the resemblance between a cowrie shell and a sow's vulva), from porcella little sow, from porca sow, from Latin; see pork

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

porcelain

noun

Words related to porcelain

Words nearby porcelain

Origin of porcelain

OTHER WORDS FROM porcelain

Examples from the Web for porcelain

British Dictionary definitions for porcelain

noun

Derived forms of porcelain

Word Origin for porcelain