porphyry

English

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porphyry¹

  • /ˈpɔɹ.fɪ.ɹi/
  • /ˈpɔɹ.fə.ɹi/

Where it comes from

From Old French porfire, from Ancient Greek πορφυρίτης λίθος (porphurítēs líthos, “purple stone”), from πορφύρα (porphúra, “purple-fish, purple dye”).

noun porphyries

  1. countable, uncountable A hard igneous rock consisting of large crystals in a fine-grained matrix.
  2. countable, uncountable A purple-red rock of this kind. A quartet of porphyry warriors, locked for all time in stern embrace outside St. Mark's Basilica, were probably carved in the Fourth Century. They are believed to represent the Roman Emperor Diocletian and the three men who held power with him.

Porphyry²

proper noun

  1. A Tyrian Neoplatonic philosopher.

Translations

Every language

noun crystal

Españolpórfido
한국어반암 banam
日本語斑岩 hangan
中文斑岩 bānyán
हिन्दीसुम्माक़ summāq
Portuguêspórfiro
Françaisporphyre, porphyrie
Italianoporfido
Ελληνικάπορφυρίτης porfyrítis
Românăporfiră, porfir
Русскийпорфир porfir

name Neoplatonic philosopher

EspañolPorfirio
PortuguêsPorfírio
FrançaisPorphyre
ItalianoPorfirio
ΕλληνικάΠορφύριος Porfýrios
РусскийПорфи́рий Porfírij
العربيةفَرْفُورِيُوس farfūriyūs

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MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX
@misc{porphyry_2026,
  title = {porphyry},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/porphyry},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}