Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Lapidary
Lap′i-da-ry
,Noun.
pl.
Lapidaries
(#)
. [L.
lapidarius
, fr. lapidarius
pertaining to stone: cf. F. lapidaire
.] 1.
An artificer who cuts, polishes, and engraves precious stones; hence, a dealer in precious stones.
2.
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.
Lap′i-da-ry
,Adj.
[L.
lapidarius
pertaining to stone: cf. F. lapidaire
.] 1.
Of or pertaining to the art of cutting stones, or engraving on stones, either gems or monuments;
as,
. lapidary
ornamentation2.
Of or pertaining to monumental inscriptions;
as,
. lapidary
adulationLapidary style
, that style which is proper for monumental and other inscriptions; terse; sententious.
Webster 1828 Edition
Lapidary
LAP'IDARY
,Noun.
1.
An artificer who cuts precious stones.2.
A dealer in precious stones.3.
A virtuoso skilled in the nature and kinds of gems or precious stones.LAP'IDARY
,Adj.
Definition 2024
lapidary
lapidary
English
Noun
lapidary (plural lapidaries)
- A person who cuts, polishes, engraves, or deals in gems.
- 2013, Peter G. Read,Gemmology, Elsevier, p.289
- In the very early days of gemstone fashioning, a polisher or lapidary would cut and polish both diamonds and other gemstones.
- 2013, Peter G. Read,Gemmology, Elsevier, p.289
- An expert in gems or precious stones; a connoisseur of lapidary work.
- (archaic) A treatise on precious stones.
Derived terms
- lapidary's lathe
- lapidary's mill
- lapidary's wheel
Adjective
lapidary (not comparable)
- Pertaining to gems and precious stones, or the art of working them.
- Suitable for inscriptions; efficient, stately, concise; embodying the refinement and precision characteristic of stone-cutting.
- 2000, Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Knopf/HarperCollins, p. 71
- The sole truth was that supplied by mathematics or by such lapidary propositions as “What's done cannot be undone,” which was irrefutably correct.
- 2000, Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Knopf/HarperCollins, p. 71