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porcelaine. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
porcelaine, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
porcelaine in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
porcelaine you have here. The definition of the word
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French
Etymology
From Old French (1298 AD) pourcelaine (“cowrie, cockle, or similar univalve seashell; the polished material of these shells”). By metaphorical extension, also fine china, which had a similar appearance. From Italian (13th century, in Marco Polo) porcellana (“cowrie; china; vagina”). From porcella (“the mussel and cockle shells which painters put their pigments in”, literally “female piglet”), the diminutive of porca (“sow”), from porco (“pig”), from Latin porcus (“pig”).
Pronunciation
Noun
porcelaine f (plural porcelaines)
- cowrie, a mollusk of the family Cypraeidae, or its translucent shell
- porcelain, the translucent ceramic of fine china, or vessels made of this material
Derived terms
Descendants
References
- "porcelaine", Le petit Robert 1, 1990 edition.
- "porcelain", Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition.
Further reading