marble
/ˈmɑɹ.bəl/
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.96 in modern English
Meaning
noun
A small ball used in games, originally of marble but now usually of glass or ceramic.
Countable
verb
To cause (something to have) the streaked or swirled appearance of certain types of marble, for example by mixing viscous ingredients incompletely, or by applying paint or other colorants unevenly.
Transitive verb
verb
To get or have the streaked or swirled appearance of certain types of marble, for example due to the incomplete mixing of viscous ingredients, or the uneven application of paint or other colorants.
Intransitive verb
verb
To cause meat, usually beef, pork, or lamb, to be interlaced with fat so that its appearance resembles that of marble.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "Open thy marble jaws, O tomb / And hide me, earth, in thy dark womb."
- "The Elgin Marbles were originally part of the temple of the Parthenon."
- "[I]t was a portrait of the Library, though not strictly correct as to its contents, since all the best of the marbles displayed in various parts of the house were brought into the painting by the artist, who made it up into a picturesque composition according to his own taste."
- "The marble is graded using the Australian system."
- "The small clouds which chequered the sky, as they passed along, spread their flitting shadows on the distant mountains, and seemed to marble them; a beauty which I do not recollect has struck any painter."
- "In the operation of marbling the edges of the books, [...]"
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: marble, -, marbre, marmor, μάρμαρος
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɑɹ.bəl/
- British English: /ˈmɑː.bəl/