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The Latin word for “stone” is lapis, which rock hounds and jewelry lovers may be familiar with as the term for a semi-precious, deep blue gem also known as lapis lazuli, or “stone of the sky.” In the 1300s, lapis lent its shine to the English noun lapidary, referring to a cutter, polisher, or engraver of precious stones, as well as to the art of such a person. The crystalline refinement involved in the work of a lapidary eventually led, centuries later, to the use of lapidary as an adjective describing things that have the elegance and precision of inscriptions carved in stone monuments. Today it is used most often to characterize speech or prose (such as an essay, memoir, or address) that is considered notably clear and fine, but lapidary can also describe virtues such as grace and dignity, whether observed in one’s language or character.
Examples of lapidary in a Sentence
oregonlive, 2 Mar. 2023
Center, 4855 Arctic Boulevard, Anchorage. Shop handmade crafts from all over the state of Alaska: jewelry, artwork, furs, crochet, clothing, blankets, gold, ivory, baleen, lapidary and a host of handmade artisan confections marshmallows and baked goods. Admission and arena-style parking is free!
—Anchorage Daily News, 23 Sep. 2022
The refrain is, typically for Mellencamp, lapidary.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 4 July 2021
The Del Mar Fairgrounds hosts this annual lapidary, fossil, mineral and gemstone exhibition and marketplace, with activities and education for all ages.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Jan. 2023
Take this 22k gold ring, for example, which is crowned with a yellow Beryl that has been hand-carved by a master lapidary into the shape of Heket, the Egyptian goddess of fertility.
—Leena Kim, Town & Country, 4 Dec. 2022
Perfume is an accessory as elevating and as personal as a piece of jewelry, and perhaps no one knows this better than Cartier perfumer Mathilde Laurent, who crafts every scent with the meticulous care of a lapidary.
—April Long, Town & Country, 27 Oct. 2020
Peter J. Travers, National Review, 30 Dec. 2023
Similarly, the movie’s dialogue is spare but not scant; Jackson writes lines of a lapidary strength and density, and her actors deliver them in a way that conveys the experience packed within.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2023
Readers were clamoring for literary works that deployed irony, lapidary prose and an artful yet steely-eyed glimpse into the conflict.
—Mark Athitakis, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2023
Since then, there was barely a moment when his eloquent, lapidary observations on art old and new could not be read — in addition to the Voice, in the New York Times, ArtNews, Art in America, 7 Days and other magazines, plus assorted gallery catalogs.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2022
There’s an enveloping quality to Jünger’s lapidary stylistic turn in the novel.
—Thomas Meaney, Harper’s Magazine , 16 Feb. 2023
When identical copies of tools are required, his team uses lapidary equipment, or rock-cutters, to mass-produce them.
—Bridget Alex, Discover Magazine, 5 Oct. 2017
In absorbing detail and lapidary prose, Gage, a historian at Yale, makes clear that Hoover designed his bureau to be a potent tool for advancing the security needs of a growing national government—no matter which president or party controlled it.
—Michael Kazin, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2022
The show features fossils crystals and gems, rough slabs and cabs along with lapidary tools.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Sep. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lapidary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Lapidary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lapidary. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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lapidary
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