Definitions for alabaster

This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word alabaster

Princeton's WordNet

  1. alabaster(noun)

    a compact fine-textured, usually white gypsum used for carving

  2. alabaster, oriental alabaster, onyx marble, Mexican onyx(noun)

    a hard compact kind of calcite

  3. alabaster(adj)

    a very light white

  4. alabaster, alabastrine(adj)

    of or resembling alabaster

    "alabaster statue"


  1. alabaster(Noun)

    A fine-grained white or lightly-tinted variety of gypsum, used ornamentally.

  2. alabaster(Noun)

    A variety of calcite, translucent and sometimes banded.

  3. alabaster(Adjective)

    Made of alabaster

    The crown is stored in an alabaster box with an onyx handle and a gold lock.

  4. alabaster(Adjective)

    Resembling alabaster: white, pale, translucent.

    An ominous alabaster fog settled in the valley.

  5. Origin: From alabastre, from alabaster, from ἀλάβαστρος, from earlier ἀλάβαστος. This may further derive from the ancient word a-labaste (vessel of the Egyptian goddess Bast) .

Webster Dictionary

  1. Alabaster(noun)


  2. Alabaster(noun)


  3. Alabaster(noun)


  4. Origin: [L. alabaster, Gr. 'ala`bastros, said to be derived fr. Alabastron, the name of a town in Egypt, near which it was common: cf. OF. alabastre, F. albtre.]


  1. Alabaster

    Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite, a carbonate of calcium, also known as onyx-marble, Egyptian alabaster or Oriental alabaster, in geological terms is "a stalagmitic limestone marked with patterns of swirling bands of cream and brown". In general, but not always, ancient "alabaster" in Egypt and the Near & Middle East is calcite, and "alabaster" in medieval Europe is gypsum, and modern "alabaster" is probably calcite, but may be either. Both are easy to work, with an attractive appearance, and have been used for making a variety of artworks and objects, especially carvings for indoor use, as both are slightly water soluble, and will not survive long outdoors. The two kinds are distinguished from one another readily by differences in their relative hardness. The gypsum kind is so soft as to be readily scratched with a fingernail, while the calcite kind is too hard to be scratched in this way, although it does yield readily to a knife. Moreover, the calcite alabaster, being a carbonate, effervesces upon being touched with hydrochloric acid, whereas the gypsum alabaster, when thus treated, remains practically unaffected.

Translations for alabaster

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