alabaster

Word family

Related topics: Geology

al·a·bas·ter1 /ˈæləbɑːstə $ -bæstər/ noun [uncountableU]

HEGa white stone, used for making statues or other objects for decoration 雪花石膏

Examples from the Corpus

alabaster• Granite and alabaster were also imported with precious materials such as porphyry to give richness and lustre to interiors.• The windows above glow because of their alabaster filling but make the interior darker than it would be with glass.• My fingers are as white, alabaster white, as the hands of a corpse.• Aye, sculpted in whitest alabaster to emphasize his purity.• They had semi-circular arched heads and were generally filled with alabaster or marble sheets or, sometimes, glass.

alabaster2 adjectiveadj

1. made of alabaster 雪花石膏制的

2. white and smooth 雪白光滑的

Examples from the Corpus

alabaster• Poppy by Ruth Harris Poppy's flesh is alabaster, below a cap of bandages.• No purple mountain majesty there and no alabaster city, just waves of grain and the Co-op Elevator.• And her alabaster skin, always such a stunning foil for her violet eyes, was an alarming shade of yellow.

Origin alabaster

(1300-1400) Old French alabastre, from Latin alabaster “container made of alabaster”, from Greek alabastros