porcelain

porcelain — noun

1. a very hard, smooth material fired from special clay at great heat, often white

1.nounB2
Definition

a very hard, smooth material fired from special clay at great heat, often white and glossy, from which fine dishes and ornaments are made.

Example

The sink is made of white porcelain and stays cool all day.

pattern: made of porcelain

Rosa learned to paint tiny blue flowers on porcelain at school.

pattern: paint on porcelain

Common collocations
  • white porcelain
  • fine porcelain
  • made of porcelain
  • paint on porcelain
  • porcelain surface
Synonyms
  • ceramic

    broader term for baked clay materials; not always as fine or glossy

  • china

    often used for fine tableware rather than the raw material itself

  • stoneware

    strong baked clay, usually thicker and less delicate

Grammar Patterns

made of porcelain

paint on porcelain

porcelain surface

Usage Note

Uncountable in this sense. It names the substance itself and often follows patterns such as 'made of porcelain' or 'painted on porcelain'; compare sense 2, which points to the finished objects.

Common Mistakes

The cup is made from a porcelain.
The cup is made of porcelain.
the material sense is uncountable and normally follows 'made of'.

2. fine cups, plates, vases, figures, and similar pieces made from porcelain, espec

2.nounB2
Definition

fine cups, plates, vases, figures, and similar pieces made from porcelain, especially when they are thought of as a group.

Example

The museum displays old porcelain in a glass case upstairs.

pattern: display porcelain

Aunt Mei wrapped the family porcelain in towels before the move.

Common collocations
  • old porcelain
  • family porcelain
  • collect porcelain
  • display porcelain
  • blue-and-white porcelain
Synonyms
  • china

    common word for fine cups and plates used at the table

  • ceramics

    broader; can include art pieces and objects not made of porcelain

  • crockery

    mainly everyday plates, bowls, and cups rather than fine display pieces

Grammar Patterns

collect porcelain

display porcelain

bring out the porcelain

Usage Note

Usually uncountable here as well. Distinguish from sense 1: use this sense when the word means the finished dishes or ornaments themselves, not the substance they are made from.

Common Mistakes

The shop sells many beautiful porcelains.
The shop sells a lot of beautiful porcelain.
this sense usually treats the objects as a group, not as a regular plural noun.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Ceramic' is the broad umbrella word: it covers many things made from baked clay, including tiles, bowls, and art pieces. 'Porcelain' is a narrower word for a hard, smooth, often white material that is usually finer and more delicate in appearance. 'China' often overlaps with 'porcelain', but in everyday English it more often points to fine tableware such as cups, plates, and tea sets. 'Stoneware' is also strong baked clay, but it is thicker, heavier, and usually less translucent than porcelain. 'Earthenware' is more porous and less refined, often with a rustic feel. So a museum may display Ming porcelain, a family may keep good china for guests, and a kitchen may use stoneware bowls every day.

ceramic ↗china ↗stonewareearthenware

Etymology

ItalianFrenchEnglish

English 'porcelain' came through French from Italian 'porcellana'. In Italian, that word was first used for a smooth, shiny cowrie shell, and later for this material because its white surface reminded people of the shell. As the fine ceramic became widely known in Europe, the shell name stayed with the new material and the objects made from it.