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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Porcelain \Por"ce*lain\ (277), noun [F. porcelaine, It. porcellana, orig., the porcelain shell, or Venus shell (Cypr[ae]a porcellana), from a dim. fr. L. porcus pig, probably from the resemblance of the shell in shape to a pig's back. Porcelain was called after this shell, either on account of its smoothness and whiteness, or because it was believed to be made from it. See {Pork}.] A fine translucent or semitransculent kind of earthenware, made first in China and Japan, but now also in Europe and America; -- called also {China}, or {China ware}.
Porcelain, by being pure, is apt to break. --Dryden.
{Ivory porcelain}, porcelain with a surface like ivory, produced by depolishing. See {Depolishing}.
{Porcelain clay}. See under {Clay}.
{Porcelain crab} (Zo["o]l.), any crab of the genus {Porcellana} and allied genera (family {Porcellanid[ae]}). They have a smooth, polished carapace.
{Porcelain jasper}. (Min.) See {Porcelanite}.
{Porcelain printing}, the transferring of an impression of an engraving to porcelain.
{Porcelain shell} (Zo["o]l.), a cowry.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Porcelain \Por"ce*lain\, noun (Bot.) Purslain. [Obs.]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
porcelain
noun: ceramic ware made of a more or less translucent ceramic
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
24 Moby Thesaurus words for "porcelain": adobe, biscuit, bisque, bowl, brick, cement, ceramic ware, ceramics, china, clay, crock, crockery, enamel, enamelware, firebrick, glass, jug, pot, pottery, refractory, tile, tiling, urn, vase
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |