porcelain

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

noun

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

2. ware made from this.

porcelain

/ ˈpɔːsə-, ˈpɔːslɪn, ˌpɔːsəˈleɪnɪəs, -leɪn /

noun

1. 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

2. an object made of this or such objects collectively

3. (modifier) of, relating to, or made from this material

   a porcelain cup

Other Word Forms

• porcelaneous adjective
• porcellaneous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of porcelain¹

1520–30; < French porcelaine < Italian porcellana originally, 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 ( pork, -elle ) + -ano -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of porcelain¹

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

Example Sentences

Few of the stolen works—including precious porcelain and gold crosses and statues—have been recovered.

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I may even break out my grandmother’s porcelain plates.

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The dolls—Victorian inspired, with porcelain heads—became an important part of the duo’s work beginning in 2006, Mini-Me versions of the most important creations in each collection.

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The boutique is encased in light, with neutral porcelain tile, silk wallpaper and marble flooring offering a sleek and timeless browsing experience.

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The piece proved an immediate hit, with critics comparing it to ready-made master Marcel Duchamp’s 1917 porcelain urinal, “Fountain.”

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Related Words

• ceramic 
• ceramics 
• enamel