Lapidary

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlæpɪdÉ™ri/

Origin

From Latin lapidārius ("of stones") (later used as a noun ‘stone-cutter’), from lapis ("stone").

Full definition of lapidary

Noun

1. A person who cuts, polishes, engraves, or deals in gems.2005 Peter G. Read, "Gemmology"
• in the very early days of gemstone fashioning, a polisher or lapidary would cut and polish both diamonds and other gemstones.
2. An expert in gems or precious stones; a connoisseur of lapidary work.
3. (archaic) A treatise on precious stones.

Derived terms

• lapidary's lathe
• lapidary's mill
• lapidary's wheel

Adjective

1. Pertaining to gems and precious stones, or the art of working them.
2. Suitable for inscriptions; efficient, stately, concise; embodying the refinement and precision characteristic of stone-cutting.
• 2000: The sole truth was that supplied by mathematics or by such lapidary propositions as “What's done cannot be undone,” which was irrefutably correct. — Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God (Harper 2004, p. 71)