From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Plaster \Plas"ter\, noun [AS., a plaster (in sense 1), fr. L. emplastrum, Gr. ?, ?, fr. ? to daub on, stuff in; ? in + ? to mold: cf. OF. plastre a plaster (in sense 2), F. pl[^a]tre. Cf. {Plastic}, {Emplaster}, {Piaster}.] [Formerly written also {plaister}.]
1. (Med.) An external application of a consistency harder than ointment, prepared for use by spreading it on linen, leather, silk, or other material. It is adhesive at the ordinary temperature of the body, and is used, according to its composition, to produce a medicinal effect, to bind parts together, etc.; as, a porous plaster; sticking plaster.
2. A composition of lime, water, and sand, with or without hair as a bond, for coating walls, ceilings, and partitions of houses. See {Mortar}.
3. Calcined gypsum, or plaster of Paris, especially when ground, as used for making ornaments, figures, moldings, etc.; or calcined gypsum used as a fertilizer.
{Plaster cast}, a copy of an object obtained by pouring plaster of Paris mixed with water into a mold.
{Plaster of Paris}. [So called because originally brought from a suburb of Paris.] (Chem.) Anhydrous calcium sulphate, or calcined gypsum, which forms with water a paste which soon sets or hardens, and is used for casts, moldings, etc. The term is loosely applied to any plaster stone or species of gypsum.
{Plaster of Paris bandage} (Surg.), a bandage saturated with a paste of plaster of Paris, which on drying forms a perfectly fitting splint.
{Plaster stone}, any species of gypsum. See {Gypsum}.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Plaster \Plas"ter\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Plastered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Plastering}.] [Cf. OF. plastrer to plaster (in sense 2), F. pl[^a]trer.]
1. To cover with a plaster, as a wound or sore.
2. To overlay or cover with plaster, as the ceilings and walls of a house.
3. Fig.: To smooth over; to cover or conceal the defects of; to hide, as with a covering of plaster. --Bale.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a mixture of lime or gypsum with sand and water; hardens into a smooth solid; used to cover walls and ceilings
2: any of several gypsum cements; a white powder (a form of calcium sulphate) that forms a paste when mixed with water and hardens into a solid; used in making molds and sculptures and casts for broken limbs [syn: {plaster of Paris}]
3: a medical dressing consisting of a soft heated mass of meal or clay that is spread on a cloth and applied to the skin to treat inflamed areas or improve circulation etc. [syn: {poultice}, {cataplasm}]
4: a hardened surface of plaster (as on a wall or ceiling); "there were cracks in the plaster" [syn: {plasterwork}]
5: adhesive tape used in dressing wounds [syn: {adhesive plaster}, {sticking plaster}]
verb
1: cover conspicuously, as by pasting something on; "The demonstrators plastered the hallways with posters"
2: affix conspicuously; "She plastered warnings all over the wall"
3: apply a plaster cast to; "plaster the broken arm"
4: apply a heavy coat to [syn: {plaster over}, {stick on}]
5: coat with plaster; "daub the wall" [syn: {daub}]
6: dress by covering with a therapeutic substance [syn: {poultice}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
179 Moby Thesaurus words for "plaster": Ace bandage, Band-Aid, Portland cement, Spackle, adherent, adhesive, adhesive tape, adobe, application, ashlar, band, bandage, bandaging, barnacle, bathe, bedaub, besmear, binder, booze up, boozify, brace, bramble, brick, bricks and mortar, brier, bulldog, burr, butter, care for, cast, cataplasm, cement, chinking, clay, clinker, coat, composition, compress, concrete, cotton, court plaster, cover, covering materials, cravat, crock, crush, cure, dab, daub, decal, decalcomania, dental pulp, diagnose, doctor, drag, dress, dressing, dub, elastic bandage, epithem, equalize, even, ferroconcrete, firebrick, flag, flagstone, flatten, flooring, flux, four-tailed bandage, fuddle, gauze, give care to, glue, grade, grease, grout, gunk, harrow, heal, lath and plaster, lay, leech, level, limpet, lint, lubricate, mash, masonry, massage, mastic, minister to, molasses, mortar, mow, mucilage, mush, nurse, oil, operate on, overlay, overtake, paper pulp, parget, paste, patching plaster, pavement, paving, paving material, physic, pickle, pith, plane, planish, plaster cast, plasters, pledget, pollute, porridge, poultice, prestressed concrete, prickle, pudding, pulp, pulp lead, pulpwood, purge, rag pulp, remedy, remora, roller, roller bandage, roofage, roofing, roughcast, rub, rubber bandage, sauce, shave, siding, size, sling, smarm, smash, smear, smooth, smooth down, smooth out, smudge, souse, spackling compound, splint, sponge, spread, squash, stew, sticker, stone, strap, stucco, stupe, sulfate pulp, sulfite pulp, superimpose, swack, syrup, tampon, tape, tent, thorn, tile, tiling, tipsify, tourniquet, treat, triangular bandage, walling, white lead, wood pulp
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