Porcelain Meaning
/ˈpɔːsəlɪn/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA hard white translucent ceramic, originally made by firing kaolin, quartz, and feldspar at high temperatures but now also inclusive of similar artificial materials; also often (figurative) such a material as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.
nounSynonym of china: porcelain tableware.
Sentence Examples
Mary is a porcelain maker.
Last night I prayed to the porcelain god.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The delicate ____ vase was carefully packed in foam to avoid breaking.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The antique ____ vase was valued at over fifty thousand pounds at the auction house.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French porcelaine (“cowrie, wampum; china, chinaware”), from Old Italian porcellana (“cowrie; china, chinaware”), from porcella (“female piglet”) + -ana. 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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 136:
"[...] that earthen or pliable matter commonly called porcellan, which is pure white,... wherof vessels of all kinds are very curiously framed..."
— 1599, E. de Sande, translated by Richard Hakluyt, The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation, 2nd edition, volume II, page 91:
"In the kingdomes of Caiacan and Carazan, certaine sea shels are currant, which some men terme Porcelline."
— 1601, Giovanni Botero, translated by Robert Johnson, The Trauellers Breuiat, or, An Historicall Description of the Most Famous Kingdomes in the World, page 104:
"We mett severall gangs of men to our greatest disadvantage, ffor we weare forced to sing, and those that came to see us gave porcelaine to those that most did us injury."
— c. 1665, Pierre Esprit de Radisson, Voyages, 1885 edition, page 49:
"Those pretty spangled Toys [...] known by various names, as Porcelains, Hyacinths, Ermines, &c."
— 1855, The Poultry Chronicle, number 3, page 9:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The delicate ____ vase was carefully packed in foam to avoid breaking.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The antique ____ vase was valued at over fifty thousand pounds at the auction house.