porcelaine

See also: porcélaine

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

  • IPA(key): /pɔʁ.sə.lɛn/
  • Audio (France (Lyon)):(file)
  • Audio (France (Somain)):(file)

Noun

porcelaine f (plural porcelaines)

  1. cowrie, a mollusk of the family Cypraeidae, or its translucent shell
  2. porcelain, the translucent ceramic of fine china, or vessels made of this material

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Danish: porcelæn
  • → English: porcelain
  • → Ottoman Turkish: پورسلن (porselen), پورسلان (porselan, porslan)
  • → Swedish: porslin

References

  • "porcelaine", Le petit Robert 1, 1990 edition.
  • "porcelain", Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition.

Further reading

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