porcelain

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porcelain

/ˈpɔːsəlɪn/ UK
/ˈpɔɹs(ə)lɪn/ US
/ˈpɔɹs(ə)lən/ US
/ˈpoːs(ɘ)lɘn/ New Zealand

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Middle French porcelaine (“cowrie, wampum; china, chinaware”), from Old Italian porcellana (“cowrie; china, chinaware”), from Italian porcello (“piglet”). 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.

noun porcelains

uncountable, usually A hard white translucent ceramic, originally made by firing kaolin, quartz, and feldspar at high temperatures but now also inclusive of similar artificial materials; also often (figurative) such a material as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. Tableware and toilets are both made of porcelain.
uncountable, usually Synonym of china: porcelain tableware. iij. potts of Erthe payntid, callyd Porseland.
Similar: china, chinaware
obsolete, uncountable Synonym of kaolin: the kind of clay traditionally used in China to manufacture porcelain. [...] that earthen or pliable matter commonly called porcellan, which is pure white,... wherof vessels of all kinds are very curiously framed...
Similar: kaolin
countable, plural normally An object made of porcelain, (particularly) art objects or items of tableware. The museum has an extensive collection of rare Chinese porcelains.
Similar: china
countable, rare Synonym of cowrie. In the kingdomes of Caiacan and Carazan, certaine sea shels are currant, which some men terme Porcelline.
Similar: cowrie
countable, historical, obsolete Synonym of wampum: strings of shells, beads, etc. used as ornamentation or currency; the composite shells, beads, etc. 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.
Similar: wampum
capitalized, countable, often A kind of pigeon with deep brown and off-white feathers. Those pretty spangled Toys [...] known by various names, as Porcelains, Hyacinths, Ermines, &c.
countable, uncountable The set of Git commands, such as `git commit` or `git checkout`, which control the high-level state of the repository, each typically combining the behaviour of multiple plumbing commands. Coordinate term: plumbing

verb porcelains · porcelaining · porcelained

transitive To coat with a porcelain enamel.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: earthenware, pottery, ceramics, ceramic, magnetism, tao, ware, china, stoneware, chinaware, crockery, faience, majolica, terracotta, delftware, porcelainware

Translations

Every language

noun hard white translucent ceramic

Español	porcelana, loza
한국어	도자기 dojagi
日本語	磁器 jiki, 焼き物 yakimono, ポースレン pōsuren, 陶磁 tōji
中文	瓷器 cíqì, 瓷 cí
हिन्दी	पॉर्सिलेन pŏrsilen, चीनी का बरतन cīnī kā bartan, चीनी cīnī
Português	porcelana
Français	porcelaine
Deutsch	Porzellan
Italiano	porcellana
Ελληνικά	πορσελάνη porseláni
Română	porțelan
Русский	фарфо́р farfór
Tiếng Việt	sứ, đồ sứ
العربية	خَزَف ḵazaf
עברית	חַרְסִינָה kharsina

noun items (esp. dishware or objets d'art) made of porcelain

Español	porcelana
한국어	도자기 dojagi
日本語	陶磁器 tōjiki
中文	瓷器 cíqì
Português	porcelana
Français	porcelaine
Deutsch	Porzellan
Ελληνικά	πορσελάνη porseláni, πορσελάνες porselánes
Română	porțelan
Русский	фарфо́р farfór
Tiếng Việt	đồ sứ
עברית	חַרְסִינָה kharsína

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MLA

"porcelain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/porcelain. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

porcelain. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/porcelain

Chicago

"porcelain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/porcelain.

BibTeX

@misc{porcelain_2026,
  title = {porcelain},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/porcelain},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}