Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Popular Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
Definition of Porcelaneous - 3 dictionary results

por⋅ce⋅lain

  [pawr-suh-lin, pohr-; pawrs-lin, pohrs-]
Use Porcelaneous in a Sentence
–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.
Origin:
1520–30; < F porcelaine < It porcellana orig., a type of cowry shell, appar. likened to the vulva of a sow, n. use of fem. of porcellano of a young sow, equiv. to porcell(a), dim. of porca sow (see pork, -elle ) + -ano -an

Related forms:
por⋅ce⋅la⋅ne⋅ous, por⋅cel⋅la⋅ne⋅ous  [pawr-suh-ley-nee-uhs, pohr-] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Porcelaneous
por·ce·lain   (pôr'sə-lĭn, pōr'-, pôrs'lĭn, pōrs'-)   
n.  
  1. A hard, white, translucent ceramic made by firing a pure clay and then glazing it with variously colored fusible materials; china.
  2. An object made of this substance.

[French porcelaine, cowry shell, porcelain, from Old French, from Old Italian porcellana, from feminine of porcellano, of a young sow (from the shell's resemblance to a pig's back), from porcella, young sow, diminutive of porca, sow, from Latin, feminine of porcus, pig; see porko- in Indo-European roots.]
por'ce·la'ne·ous (-lā'nē-əs) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Porcelaneous

Por`ce*la"ne*ous\, Porcellaneous \Por`cel*la"ne*ous\, a. 1. Of or pertaining to porcelain; resembling porcelain; as, porcelaneous shells.

2. (Zo["o]l.) Having a smooth, compact shell without pores; -- said of certain Foraminifera.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Porcelaneous on Thesaurus | Reference