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alabaster

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
al·a·bas·ter  (l-bstr)
n.
1. A dense translucent, white or tinted fine-grained gypsum.
2. A variety of hard calcite, translucent and sometimes banded.
3. A pale yellowish pink to yellowish gray.

[Middle English alabastre, from Old French, from Latin alabaster, from Greek alabastros, alabastos, possibly of Egyptian origin.]

alabaster [ˈæləˌbɑːstə -ˌbæstə]
n
1. (Earth Sciences / Minerals) a fine-grained usually white, opaque, or translucent variety of gypsum used for statues, vases, etc.
2. (Earth Sciences / Minerals) a variety of hard semitranslucent calcite, often banded like marble
adj
of or resembling alabaster
[from Old French alabastre, from Latin alabaster, from Greek alabastros]
alabastrine  adj
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.alabaster - a compact fine-textured, usually white gypsum used for carving
gypsum - a common white or colorless mineral (hydrated calcium sulphate) used to make cements and plasters (especially plaster of Paris)
2.alabaster - a hard compact kind of calcite
calcite - a common mineral consisting of crystallized calcium carbonate; a major constituent of limestone
3.alabaster - a very light white
whiteness, white - the quality or state of the achromatic color of greatest lightness (bearing the least resemblance to black)
Adj.1.alabaster - of or resembling alabaster; "alabaster statue"
Translations
alabaster [ˈæləbɑːstəʳ]
A. Nalabastro m
B. ADJalabastrino
alabaster [ˈæləbɑːstər]
nalbâtre m
modif
(made of alabaster) [figure, vase] → en albâtre
(= smooth) [skin, neck, breasts, buttocks] → d'albâtre
alabaster
nAlabaster m
adj (lit)alabastern, Alabaster-; (fig liter)Alabaster-, wie Alabaster; alabaster skinAlabasterhaut f
alabaster [ˈæləbɑːstəʳ] nalabastro


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Indeed, had I realised how superbly impressive they were going to be, I think I must have declined the adventure altogether,--for, robed in lustrous ivory-white linen were those figures of undress marble, the wealth of their glorious bodies pressing out into bosoms magnificent as magnolias (nobler lines and curves Greece herself has never known), towering in throats of fluted alabaster, and flowering in coiffures of imperial gold.
Then he bathed in an alabaster pool and brushed his shaggy hair and whiskers the wrong way to make them still more shaggy.
Her beauty was illumined by the awakened soul within, as some rosy lamp might shine through a flawless vase of alabaster.
 
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