porcelain
/ˈpɔɹs(ə)lɪn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.56 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A hard white translucent ceramic, originally made by firing kaolin, quartz, and feldspar at high temperatures but now also inclusive of similar artificial materials; also often (figurative) such a material as a symbol of the fragility, elegance, etc. traditionally associated with porcelain goods.
Uncountable
noun
Synonym of kaolin: the kind of clay traditionally used in China to manufacture porcelain.
Obsolete; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Tableware and toilets are both made of porcelain."
- "Any power rail needs to be well insulated from earth, to minimise current leakage, and so the two power rails on the Underground sit on curiously genteel and antique-looking porcelain pots."
- "iij. potts of Erthe payntid, callyd Porseland."
- "He set the table with our porcelain and stemware."
- "[...] that earthen or pliable matter commonly called porcellan, which is pure white,... wherof vessels of all kinds are very curiously framed..."
- "The museum has an extensive collection of rare Chinese porcelains."
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French porcelaine (“cowrie, wampum; china, chinaware”), from Old Italian porcellana (“cowrie; china, chinaware”), from Italian porcello (“piglet”). The material was so called because of its resemblance to the shell of the cowrie. Why the cowrie was named with a word meaning “piglet” is unclear.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɔɹs(ə)lɪn/
- British English: /ˈpɔːsəlɪn/