Adjacent Words

Marble definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

M`ARBLE, n. [L. marmor; Gr. white.]
1. The popular name of any species of calcarious stone or mineral, of a compact texture, and of a beautiful appearance, susceptible of a good polish. The varieties are numerous, and greatly diversified in color. Marble is limestone, or a stone which may be calcined to lime, a carbonate of lime; but limestone is a more general name, comprehending the calcarious stones of an inferior texture, as well as those which admit a fine polish. Marble is much used for statues, busts, pillars, chimney pieces, monuments, etc.
2. A little ball of marble or other stone,used by children in play.
3. A stone remarkable for some inscription or sculpture.
Arundel marbles,
Arundelian marbles, marble pieces with a chronicle of the city of Athens inscribed on them; presented to the university of Oxford, by Thomas, earl of Arundel.
M`ARBLE, a. Made of marble; as a marble pillar.
1. Variegated in color; stained or veined like marble; as the marble cover of a book.
2. Hard; insensible; as a marble heart.
M`ARBLE, v.t. To variegate in color; to cloud; to stain or vein like marble; as, to marble the cover of a book.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a hard crystalline metamorphic rock that takes a high polish; used for sculpture and as building material
2: a small ball of glass that is used in various games
3: a sculpture carved from marble v
1: paint or stain like marble; "marble paper"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French marbre, from Latin marmor, from Greek marmaros Date: 12th century 1. a. limestone that is more or less crystallized by metamorphism, that ranges from granular to compact in texture, that is capable of taking a high polish, and that is used especially in architecture and sculpture b. something (as a piece of sculpture) composed of or made from marble c. something suggesting marble (as in hardness, coldness, or smoothness) <a heart of marble> 2. a. a little ball made of a hard substance (as glass) and used in various games b. plural but singular in construction any of several games played with these little balls c. plural the rewards to be won in competition especially for a championship — used in the phrase all the marbles <a game being played for all the marbles> 3. marbling 4. plural elements of common sense; especially sanity <persons who are born without all their marbles — Arthur Miller> • marble adjective II. transitive verb (marbled; marbling) Date: 1675 to give a veined or mottled appearance to <marble the edges of a book>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 limestone in a metamorphic crystalline (or granular) state, and capable of taking a polish, used in sculpture and architecture. 2 (often attrib.) a anything made of marble (a marble clock). b anything resembling marble in hardness, coldness, durability, etc. (her features were marble). 3 a a small ball of marble, glass, clay, etc., used as a toy. b (in pl.; treated as sing.) a game using these. 4 (in pl.) sl. one's mental faculties (he's lost his marbles). 5 (in pl.) a collection of sculptures (Elgin Marbles). --v.tr. 1 (esp. as marbled adj.) stain or colour (paper, the edges of a book, soap, etc.) to look like variegated marble. 2 (as marbled adj.) (of meat) streaked with alternating layers of lean and fat. Phrases and idioms: marble cake a cake with a mottled appearance, made of light and dark sponge. Derivatives: marbly adj. Etymology: ME f. OF marbre, marble, f. L marmor f. Gk marmaros shining stone

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Limestone Lime"stone` (l[imac]m"st[=o]n`), n. A rock consisting chiefly of calcium carbonate or carbonate of lime. It sometimes contains also magnesium carbonate, and is then called magnesian or dolomitic limestone. Crystalline limestone is called marble.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Marble Mar"ble, a. 1. Made of, or resembling, marble; as, a marble mantel; marble paper. 2. Cold; hard; unfeeling; as, a marble breast or heart.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Marble Mar"ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Marbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Marbling.] [Cf. F. marbrer. See Marble, n.] To stain or vein like marble; to variegate in color; as, to marble the edges of a book, or the surface of paper.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Marble Mar"ble, n. [OE. marbel, marbre, F. marbre, L. marmor, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to sparkle, flash. Cf. Marmoreal.] 1. A massive, compact limestone; a variety of calcite, capable of being polished and used for architectural and ornamental purposes. The color varies from white to black, being sometimes yellow, red, and green, and frequently beautifully veined or clouded. The name is also given to other rocks of like use and appearance, as serpentine or verd antique marble, and less properly to polished porphyry, granite, etc. Note: Breccia marble consists of limestone fragments cemented together. Ruin marble, when polished, shows forms resembling ruins, due to disseminated iron oxide. Shell marble contains fossil shells. Statuary marble is a pure, white, fine-grained kind, including Parian (from Paros) and Carrara marble. If coarsely granular it is called saccharoidal. 2. A thing made of, or resembling, marble, as a work of art, or record, in marble; or, in the plural, a collection of such works; as, the Arundel or Arundelian marbles; the Elgin marbles. 3. A little ball of marble, or of some other hard substance, used as a plaything by children; or, in the plural, a child's game played with marbles. Note: Marble is also much used in self-explaining compounds; when used figuratively in compounds it commonly means, hard, cold, destitute of compassion or feeling; as, marble-breasted, marble-faced, marble-hearted.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(marbles) 1. Marble is a type of very hard rock which feels cold when you touch it and which shines when it is cut and polished. Statues and parts of buildings are sometimes made of marble. The house has a superb staircase made from oak and marble... N-UNCOUNT: oft N n 2. Marbles are sculptures made of marble. ...marbles and bronzes from the Golden Age of Athens. N-COUNT: usu pl 3. Marbles is a children's game played with small balls, usually made of coloured glass. You roll a ball along the ground and try to hit an opponent's ball with it. On the far side of the street, two boys were playing marbles. N-UNCOUNT 4. A marble is one of the small balls used in the game of marbles. N-COUNT

Easton's Bible Dictionary

as a mineral, consists of carbonate of lime, its texture varying from the highly crystalline to the compact. In Esther 1:6 there are four Hebrew words which are rendered marble:, (1.) Shesh, "pillars of marble." But this word probably designates dark-blue limestone rather than marble. (2.) Dar, some regard as Parian marble. It is here rendered "white marble." But nothing is certainly known of it. (3.) Bahat, "red marble," probably the verd-antique or half-porphyry of Egypt. (4.) Sohareth, "black marble," probably some spotted variety of marble. "The marble pillars and tesserae of various colours of the palace at Susa came doubtless from Persia itself, where marble of various colours is found, especially in the province of Hamadan Susiana." The marble of Solomon's architectural works may have been limestone from near Jerusalem, or from Lebanon, or possibly white marble from Arabia. Herod employed Parian marble in the temple, and marble columns still exist in great abundance at Jerusalem.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

mar'-b'-l (shayish, shesh, 'abhne shayish, "stones of marble" (1Ch 29:2); ritspath bahat wa-shesh we-dhar we-cochareth, "a pavement of red, and white, and yellow, and black marble," or, according to the margin, "a pavement of porphyry, and white marble, and alabaster, and stone of blue color" (Es 1:6); `ammudhe shesh, "pillars of marble" (Es 1:6; So 5:15); compare shesh, the King James Version margin "silk" or the Revised Version (British and American) "fine linen" (Ge 41:42; Ex 25:4, etc.); shoshannim, "lilies" (So 2:16, etc.), apparently from a root signifying "white"; marmaros, "marble" (Re 18:12)): Marble is properly crystalline limestone, usually pure white or veined with black, the former being in demand for statuary, while the latter is used in architecture, especially for floors and pillars. True marble is not found in Palestine, but is obtained from Greece or Italy. Much of the stone described as marble is non-crystalline limestone capable of being smoothed and polished. White or yellow stone of this character is abundant in Palestine. Non-crystalline rocks of other colors are also sometimes called marble. In the passage from Esther cited above (compare margin), it is a question whether the reference is to marble and other stones or to marble of different colors. In 1Ch 29:2, "marble stones" are mentioned among the materials brought together by David for the building of the temple. In Es 1:6, pillars and a pavement of marble are features of the palace of Ahasuerus. In So 5:15, the various parts of the body of the "beloved" are likened to gold, beryl, ivory, sapphire, and marble. In Re 18:12, marble occurs in the list of the merchandise of Babylon. All these references imply a costly stone, and therefore probably one imported from other countries, and make it likely that true crystalline marble is meant.

Alfred Ely Day

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