lapidary
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
A skilled worker who cuts and engraves precious stones.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lapuhduhreeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlæpədɛɹi
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A skilled worker who cuts and engraves precious stones
A person who cuts and polishes, engraves, or deals in gems and precious stones.
The field in which such a person works, a subfield of gemology.
adjective
Of or relating to precious stones or the art of working with them
“The ring is of no lapidary value"- Lord Byron.”
Of a piece of writing or a writing style: characteristic of or suitable for an inscription; embodying the precision and refinement of inscriptions on monuments; concise and stately.
Of an inscription: engraved on stone.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A skilled worker who cuts and engraves precious stones
Used this way, lapidary is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use lapidary
- “The ring is of no lapidary value"- Lord Byron.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.