alabaster
English
editAlternative forms
edit- alabastre (obsolete)
- alablaster (obsolete)
Etymology
editFrom Middle English alabastre, from Old French alabastre, from Latin alabaster (“box for perfume made of alabaster”), from Ancient Greek ἀλάβαστρος (alábastros), from earlier ἀλάβαστος (alábastos, “vase made of alabaster”). This may further derive from Egyptian ꜥj-r-bꜣstjt (“vessel of the Egyptian goddess Bast”). The Latin suffix -aster is unrelated, but may have influenced the spelling of the borrowing from Ancient Greek (whence a direct loan could have been rendered as *alabastrus).
Pronunciation
edit- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈæl.əˌbɑːs.tə/, /ˈæl.əˌbæs.tə/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈæl.əˌbæs.tɚ/
Audio (US): (file) Audio (General Australian): (file) - Rhymes: -ɑːstə(ɹ), -æstə(ɹ)
Noun
editalabaster (usually uncountable, plural alabasters)
- A fine-grained white or lightly-tinted variety of gypsum, used ornamentally.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 163, lines 89–90:
- Why ſhould a man whoſe bloud is warme within,
Sit like his Grandſire, cut in Alabaſter?
- 1867, Dante Alghieri, “Paradiso”, in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, transl., The Divine Comedy[1], Canto XV, lines 22–23:
- Nor was the flame dissevered from its ribbon
But like a radiant fillet ran along
So that fire seemed it behind alabaster.
- 1915 May 15, “Egyptian Antiquities for Metropolitan”, in The New York Times[2] (PDF), archived from the original on 2015-09-14:
- One of the striking relics found at the tomb, was a Canopic portrait head of Queen Tii, made entirely of alabaster except the eyes and eyebrows, which were inlaid lapis lazuli and osidian.
- (historical) A variety of calcite, translucent and sometimes banded.
- An off-white colour, like that of alabaster.
- alabaster:
Derived terms
editTranslations
edit
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Adjective
editalabaster (not comparable)
- Made of alabaster.
- The crown is stored in an alabaster box with an onyx handle and a gold lock.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 14:3:
- And being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
- 1980, Colin Thubron, Seafarers: The Venetians, page 41:
- An enameled miniature of Christ is set in the center of a jeweled alabaster paten, the plate that holds the bread during Communion services.
- Resembling alabaster: white, pale, translucent.
- An ominous alabaster fog settled in the valley.
- 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC, lines 418-420:
- With more than admiration he admir’d
Her azure veins, her alabaster skin,
Her coral lips, her snow-white dimpled chin.
- a. 1887 (date written), Emily Dickinson, “[Book IV.—Time and Eternity] Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers”, in Mabel Loomis Todd and T[homas] W[entworth] Higginson, editors, Poems, First Series, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1890, →OCLC, page 113:
- Safe in their alabaster chambers
Untouched by morning, untouched by noon
Sleep the meek members of the resurrection,
Rafters of satin, and roof of stone.
- 1895, “America the Beautiful”, Katharine Lee Bates (lyrics), Samuel A. Ward (music):
- Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
Translations
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Further reading
editAnagrams
editLatin
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editBorrowed from Ancient Greek ἀλάβαστρος (alábastros), from earlier ἀλάβαστος (alábastos, “vase made of alabaster”).
Pronunciation
edit- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /a.laˈbas.ter/, [äɫ̪äˈbäs̠t̪ɛr]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /a.laˈbas.ter/, [äläˈbäst̪er]
Noun
editalabaster m (genitive alabastrī); second declension
Declension
editSecond-declension noun (nominative singular in -er).
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | alabaster | alabastrī |
Genitive | alabastrī | alabastrōrum |
Dative | alabastrō | alabastrīs |
Accusative | alabastrum | alabastrōs |
Ablative | alabastrō | alabastrīs |
Vocative | alabaster | alabastrī |
Descendants
editReferences
edit- “alabaster”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- alabaster in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- “alabaster”, in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia[3]
Middle English
editNoun
editalabaster
- Alternative form of alabastre
Polish
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editInherited from Old Polish alabastyr.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editalabaster m inan
- (mineralogy) alabaster (fine-grained white or lightly-tinted variety of gypsum)
- kopalnia alabastru ― an alabaster mine
- (zrobiony, wykonany) z alabastru ― (made) of/from/out of alabaster
- alabaster object
Declension
editsingular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | alabaster | alabastry |
genitive | alabastru | alabastrów |
dative | alabastrowi | alabastrom |
accusative | alabaster | alabastry |
instrumental | alabastrem | alabastrami |
locative | alabastrze | alabastrach |
vocative | alabastrze | alabastry |
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editFurther reading
edit- alabaster in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- alabaster in Polish dictionaries at PWN
- Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “alabaster”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
- Teresa Sokołowska (14.01.2022) “ALABASTR, ALABASTER, *HALABASTER”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]
- Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “alabaster”, in Słownik języka polskiego
- Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “alabaster”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
- J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “alabaster”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 21
Serbo-Croatian
editEtymology
editBorrowed from Latin alabaster.
Noun
editalabaster m (Cyrillic spelling алабастер)
Silesian
editEtymology
editInherited from Old Polish alabastyr.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editalabaster m inan
- (mineralogy) alabaster (fine-grained white or lightly-tinted variety of gypsum)
- sawdust mixed with glue, used to seal holes in wood
Further reading
edit- Aleksandra Wencel (2023) “alabaster”, in Dykcjůnôrz ślų̊sko-polski, page 16
Swedish
editNoun
editalabaster c
Declension
editnominative | genitive | ||
---|---|---|---|
singular | indefinite | alabaster | alabasters |
definite | alabastern | alabasterns | |
plural | indefinite | — | — |
definite | — | — |
References
edit- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms derived from Egyptian
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɑːstə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/ɑːstə(ɹ)/4 syllables
- Rhymes:English/æstə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/æstə(ɹ)/4 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with historical senses
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Minerals
- en:Rocks
- en:Whites
- Latin terms borrowed from Ancient Greek
- Latin terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Latin 4-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin second declension nouns
- Latin masculine nouns in the second declension
- Latin masculine nouns
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Polish terms derived from Latin
- Polish terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Polish terms inherited from Old Polish
- Polish terms derived from Old Polish
- Polish 4-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:Polish/astɛr
- Rhymes:Polish/astɛr/4 syllables
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish masculine nouns
- Polish inanimate nouns
- pl:Minerals
- Polish terms with collocations
- Serbo-Croatian terms borrowed from Latin
- Serbo-Croatian terms derived from Latin
- Serbo-Croatian lemmas
- Serbo-Croatian nouns
- Serbo-Croatian masculine nouns
- Silesian terms derived from Latin
- Silesian terms derived from Ancient Greek
- Silesian terms inherited from Old Polish
- Silesian terms derived from Old Polish
- Silesian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Silesian/astɛr
- Rhymes:Silesian/astɛr/4 syllables
- Silesian lemmas
- Silesian nouns
- Silesian masculine nouns
- Silesian inanimate nouns
- szl:Minerals
- szl:Construction
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns