Crossword clues for lapidary
lapidary
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Lapidary \Lap"i*da*ry\, n.; pl. Lapidaries. [L. lapidarius, fr. lapidarius pertaining to stone: cf. F. lapidaire.]
An artificer who cuts, polishes, and engraves precious stones; hence, a dealer in precious stones.
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A virtuoso skilled in gems or precious stones; a connoisseur of lapidary work.
Lapidary's lathe, Lapidary's mill, Lapidary's wheel, a machine consisting essentially of a revolving lap on a vertical spindle, used by a lapidary for grinding and polishing.
Lapidary \Lap"i*da*ry\, a. [L. lapidarius pertaining to stone: cf. F. lapidaire.]
Of or pertaining to the art of cutting stones, or engraving on stones, either gems or monuments; as, lapidary ornamentation.
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Of or pertaining to monumental inscriptions; as, lapidary adulation.
Lapidary style, that style which is proper for monumental and other inscriptions; terse; sententious.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"one skilled in working with precious stones," late 14c., from Old French lapidaire (12c.), from Latin lapidarius "stonecutter," originally an adjective "of or working with stone," from lapis (genitive lapidis) "stone." Meaning "a treatise on precious stones" is late 14c. Related: Lapidarist.
Wiktionary
a. 1 Pertaining to gems and precious stones, or the art of working them. 2 Suitable for inscriptions; efficient, stately, concise; embodying the refinement and precision characteristic of stone-cutting. n. 1 A person who cuts, polishes, engraves, or deals in gems. 2 An expert in gems or precious stones; a connoisseur of lapidary work. 3 (context archaic English) A treatise on precious stones.
WordNet
adj. of or relating to precious stones or the art of working with them; "the ring is of no lapidary value"- Lord Byron; "lapidary art"
n. an expert on precious stones and the art of cutting and engraving them [syn: lapidarist]
a skilled worker who cuts and engraves precious stones [syn: lapidist]
Wikipedia
A lapidary (lapidarist, ) is an artist or artisan who forms stone, minerals, or gemstones into decorative items such as cabochons, engraved gems, including cameos, and faceted designs. The primary techniques employed are cutting, grinding, and polishing. Carving is an important, but specialised technique.
Hardstone carving is the term used in art history for objects produced by the specialised carving techniques, and the techniques themselves. Diamond cutters are generally not referred to as lapidaries, due to the specialized techniques which are required to work diamond. In modern contexts " gemcutter" typically refers to people who specialize in cutting diamonds, but in older historical contexts it refers to artists producing engraved gems such as jade carvings and the like. By extension the term "lapidary" has sometimes been applied to collectors of and dealer in gems, or to anyone who is knowledgeable in precious stones.
Lapidary may mean:
- Lapidary, an artisan working with precious stones, see hardstone carving
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Lapidary (text) a treatise on gemology, especially when pre-modern
- Old English Lapidary
- a collective term for stone inscriptions or jewellery in general
- a literary style (as if) suitable for a monumental inscription, i.e. terse and sententious
A lapidary is a text, often a whole book, giving "information about the properties and virtues of precious and semi-precious stones", that is to say a work on gemology. Lapidaries were very popular in the Middle Ages, when belief in the inherent power of gems for various purposes was widely held, and among the wealthy collecting jewels was often an obsession, as well as a popular way to store and transport capital.
The medieval world had little systematic geological knowledge, and found it difficult to distinguish between many stones with similar colours, or the same stone found in a variety of colours. Lapidaries are often found in conjunction with herbals, and as part of larger encyclopedic works. Belief in the powers of particular types of jewel to achieve effects such as protecting the wearer against diseases or other kinds of harm was strong in the Middle Ages, and explaining these formed much of the material in lapidaries. In the Middle Ages, scholars often distinguish "three different kinds of lapidaries: 1. the scientific lapidary 2. the magical or astrological lapidary and 3. the Christian symbolic lapidary", although contemporary readers would have regarded both the first two categories as representing scientific treatments.
The objects regarded as "stones" in the classical, medieval Renaissance periods included many now classified as metallic compounds such as cinnabar, haemetite, calamine, or organic or fossil substances including pearl, coral, amber, and the mythical lyngurium described below.
There were traditions of lapidary texts outside Europe, in the Islamic world as well as East Asia. The Chinese tradition was for long essentially concerned with the aesthetic qualities of stones, but by the later Middle Ages were influenced by the classical Western tradition, as transmitted through Islamic texts.
Usage examples of "lapidary".
Great Yard, enjoying the sun, enjoying the shade and the majesty of the ancient trees, chattering away into their cell phones, which their daddies could pay for as easily as drawing their next breath, suffused with the conspicuous lapidary consumption of all this royal Middle English Gothic architecture and the knowledge that they were among that elite minifraction of the youth of Americaof the youth of the world!
After them march the guilds and trades and trainbands with flying colours: coopers, bird fanciers, millwrights, newspaper canvassers, law scriveners, masseurs, vintners, trussmakers, chimneysweeps, lard refiners, tabinet and poplin weavers, farriers, Italian warehousemen, church decorators, bootjack manufacturers, undertakers, silk mercers, lapidaries, salesmasters, corkcutters, assessors of fire losses, dyers and cleaners, export bottlers, fellmongers, ticketwriters, heraldic seal engravers, horse repository hands, bullion brokers, cricket and archery outfitters, riddlemakers, egg and potato factors, hosiers and glovers, plumbing contractors.
Below the plaza were three service levels: the stables and garages at the bottom, next the Mek shops and Mek living quarters, then the various storerooms, warehouses and special shops: bakery, brewery, lapidary, arsenal, repository, and the like.
Instead, he went to the little museum within the Earth Spires kept by the Sodality of Lapidaries.
The Herricks were not a family of goldsmiths and lapidaries for nothing.
Bernabe' rolled the concept of painted cattleguards around in his brain the way a lapidary rolls a rough stone around in a rock tumbler to make it smooth.
The people of that period considered it indispensable to translate the whole world into a forest of Symbols, Hints, Equestrian Games, Masquerades, Paintings, Courtly Arms, Trophies, Blazons, Escutcheons, Ironic Figures, Sculpted Obverses of Coins, Fables, Allegories, Apologias, Epigrams, Riddles, Equivocations, Proverbs, Watchwords, Laconic Epistles, Epitaphs, Parerga, Lapidary Engravings, Shields, Glyphs, Clipei, and if I may, I will stop here—but they did not stop.
They intruded upon lapidaries and painters and basketmakers and rehearsing musicians.
He worked down at Coonskin Central and they let him have the corner of the shop for his lapidary outfit.
The strategy, then, is to make the Cap'n Crunch chew itself by grinding the nuggets together in the center of the oral cavity, like stones in a lapidary tumbler.