lapis lazuli

English

Etymology

    From Middle English lapis lazuli, from Medieval Latin lapis (stone) +‎ lazulī, genitive singular of lazulum (lapis lazuli, azure, the sky), from Arabic لَازُوَرْد (lāzuward, lapis lazuli, azure), from Persian لاجورد (lâjvard). Compare azure, of the same origin.

    Pronunciation

    • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌlap.ɪs ˈlaz.jʊ.laɪ/, /ˈlaz.jʊ.li/
    • (General American) enPR: lăp'ĭs lăzʹ(y)ə-lē, lăzʹ(y)ə-lī, lăzhʹə-lē, lăzhʹə-lī, IPA(key): /ˌlæp.ɪs ˈlæz.(j)ə.li/, /ˈlæz.(j)ə.laɪ/, /ˈlæʒ.ə.li/, /ˈlæʒ.ə.laɪ/, /ləˈzu.li/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Hyphenation: la‧pis la‧zu‧li

    Noun

    lapis lazuli (countable and uncountable, plural lapides lazuli or lapis lazulis)

    1. (mineralogy) A deep-blue stone, used in making jewelry, and traditionally used to make the pigment ultramarine.
      Synonyms: lapis, lazuli, lazurite
      • 1832, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833, The Talisman, page 66:
        He saw the amber silk curtains wave to and fro: the middle window was open; in it stood a pillar of lapis lazuli, which supported an alabaster figure, Canova's Dansatrice.
    2. A deep, bright blue, like that of the stone.
      lapis lazuli:  

    Translations

    Adjective

    lapis lazuli

    1. Of a deep, bright blue, like that of the stone.
      • 1997, David Foster Wallace, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again”, in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Kindle edition, Little, Brown Book Group:
        I cannot convey to you the sheer and surreal scale of everything: the towering ship, the ropes, the ties, the anchor, the pier, the vast lapis lazuli dome of the sky.

    See also

    Further reading

    Dutch

    Etymology

    Borrowed from English lapis lazuli, from Medieval Latin lapis (stone) and lazulī (of the heavens).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈlaː.pɪs laːˈzu.li/
    • Audio:(file)
    • Hyphenation: la‧pis la‧zu‧li

    Noun

    lapis lazuli m (uncountable)

    1. (mineralogy) lapis lazuli
      Synonyms: azuursteen, lazuursteen

    Latin

    Etymology

      Compound of lapis (stone) +‎ lazulum (heaven).

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      lapis lazulī m (genitive lapidis lazulī); third declension

      1. lapis lazuli

      Declension

      Third-declension noun with an indeclinable portion.

      singular plural
      nominative lapis lazulī lapidēs lazulī
      genitive lapidis lazulī lapidum lazulī
      dative lapidī lazulī lapidibus lazulī
      accusative lapidem lazulī lapidēs lazulī
      ablative lapide lazulī lapidibus lazulī
      vocative lapis lazulī lapidēs lazulī

      References

      Polish

      Alternative forms

      Etymology

      Internationalism; compare English lapis lazuli, French lapis-lazuli, German Lapislazuli.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈla.pis laˈzu.li/
      • Audio:(file)
      • Syllabification: la‧pis la‧zu‧li

      Noun

      lapis lazuli m inan (indeclinable)

      1. lapis lazuli, lazurite
        Synonym: lazuryt

      Further reading