alabaster
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alabaster¹
- /ˈæl.əˌbɑːs.tə/ UK
- /ˈæl.əˌbæs.tə/ UK
- /ˈæl.əˌbæs.tɚ/ US
Rhymes with -ɑːstə(ɹ), -æstə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English alabastre, from Old French alabastre, from Latin alabaster (“box for perfumes or unguents”), from Ancient Greek ἀλάβαστρος (alábastros), from earlier ἀλάβαστος (alábastos, “vase without handles for storing perfumes”). This may further derive from Egyptian ꜥj-r-bꜣstjt (“vessel of the Egyptian goddess Bast”). The Latin suffix -aster is unrelated, but may have influenced the spelling of the borrowing from Ancient Greek (whence a direct loan could have been rendered as *alabastrus).
noun alabasters · alabastre · alablaster
- A fine-grained white or lightly-tinted variety of gypsum, used ornamentally. Why ſhould a man whoſe bloud is warme within, Sit like his Grandſire, cut in Alabaſter?
- A variety of calcite, translucent and sometimes banded.
- A sculpture executed in alabaster. Beautiful oviform vases and covers, jars and covers with flowers and foliage, Italian alabasters, copies of the antique, were ranged side by side with Chinese ginger jars and common preserve bottles of birds'eggs[…]
- An off-white color, like that of alabaster.
adjective alabastre · alablaster
- Made of alabaster. The crown is stored in an alabaster box with an onyx handle and a gold lock.
-
Resembling alabaster; white, pale, smooth, translucent.
An ominous alabaster fog settled in the valley.
Similar: alabastrine
Alabaster²
- /ˈæl.əˌbɑːs.tə/ UK
- /ˈæl.əˌbæs.tə/ UK
- /ˈæl.əˌbæs.tɚ/ US
proper noun
- A city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States.
Translations
Every language
noun variety of gypsum
| Español | alabastro |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 설화석고 seolhwaseokgo |
| 日本語 | 雪花石膏 sekka sekkō |
| हिन्दी | सेलखड़ी selkhaṛī |
| Português | alabastro |
| Français | albâtre |
| Deutsch | Alabaster |
| Italiano | alabastro |
| Ελληνικά | αλάβαστρο alávastro |
| Română | alabastru |
| Русский | алеба́стр alebástr |
| العربية | مرمر |
| עברית | בהט báhat |
adj made of alabaster
| Deutsch | alabastern |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | αλαβάστρινος alavástrinos |
| Русский | алеба́стровый alebástrovyj |
Talk about this word "alabaster." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/alabaster. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. alabaster. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/alabaster "alabaster." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/alabaster.Cite this
@misc{alabaster_2026,
title = {alabaster},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/alabaster},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
