alabaster
/ˈæl.əˌbæs.tɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.71 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Made of alabaster.
adj
Resembling alabaster; white, pale, smooth, translucent.
name
A city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States.
Example Sentences
- "Why ſhould a man whoſe bloud is warme within, Sit like his Grandſire, cut in Alabaſter?"
- "Nor was the flame dissevered from its ribbon But like a radiant fillet ran along So that fire seemed it behind alabaster."
- "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."
- "Beautiful oviform vases and covers, jars and covers with flowers and foliage, Italian alabasters, copies of the antique, were ranged side by side with Chinese ginger jars and common preserve bottles of birds'eggs[…]"
- "His alabasters are certainly very estimable; but those to whom we owe them were not skilled virtuosi, and if they acquitted themselves of their task honourably, they only produced ordinary work."
- "The crown is stored in an alabaster box with an onyx handle and a gold lock."
Etymology
From Middle English alabastre, from Old French alabastre, from Latin alabaster (“box for perfumes or unguents”), from Ancient Greek ἀλάβαστρος (alábastros), from earlier ἀλάβαστος (alábastos, “vase without handles for storing perfumes”). 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).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈæl.əˌbæs.tɚ/
- British English: /ˈæl.əˌbɑːs.tə/