Lapidary

/ˈlæpɪdəɹi/ · noun

Meaning

A person who cuts and polishes, engraves, or deals in gems and precious stones..

Definitions by Sense

1. A person who cuts and polishes, engraves, or deals in gems and precious stones.
2. The field in which such a person works, a subfield of gemology.
3. An expert in gems and precious stones; a connoisseur of lapidary work.
4. Gems and precious stones collectively; jewellery.
5. A treatise on (precious) stones.
6. Of or pertaining to gems and precious stones, or the art of working them.
7. Senses relating to inscriptions.
8. (archaic, rare) Of or pertaining to stones in general.

Example Sentences

An excellent lapidary ſet theſe ſtones ſure, / Doe you mark their vvaters?

[T]he method of eſtimating diamonds is altogether arbitrary; and Ratchkali, vvho vvas an exquiſite lapidary, had ſet it in ſuch a manner as vvould have impoſed upon any ordinary jevveller.

In the very early days of gemstone fashioning, a polisher or lapidary would cut and polish both diamonds and other gemstones. […] Diamonds are now almost exclusively polished by diamond cutting specialists, and all the other gemstones are cut and polished by lapidaries.

Yet as naked as at the firſt bluſh it [the work] ſeemeth, if it ſhall ſtande wyth your Honour his pleaſure (whome I take to be an experte Lapidarie) at vacant houres to inſearche it, you ſhall finde therein ſtones of ſuch eſtimatiõ, as are woorthy to be coucht in riche and precious collets.

Yet such is the temper of this world, that, if a grave philosopher, by shaking his fist, and other acts of bravado, should happen to provoke a company of mischievous boys to reply with a shower of stones, people in general suffer their resentment to settle upon the philosopher for his wanton provocation, rather than on the boys for that lapidary style of retort in which their wrath has been trained to express itself.

Synonyms for lapidary

Antonyms for lapidary

Related Words

Word Forms

• lapidaries

Usage Notes

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