porcelain

noun

1. (uncountable, usually)A hard white translucent ceramic, originally made by firing kaolin, quartz, and feldspar at high temperatures but now also inclusive of similar artificial materials; also often (figurative) such a material as a symbol of the fragility, elegance, etc. traditionally associated with porcelain goods.

   “Tableware and toilets are both made of porcelain.”

   “Any power rail needs to be well insulated from earth, to minimise current leakage, and so the two power rails on the Underground sit on curiously genteel and antique-looking porcelain pots.”

2. (uncountable, usually)Synonym of china: porcelain tableware.

   “iij. potts of Erthe payntid, callyd Porseland.”

   “He set the table with our porcelain and stemware.”

3. (obsolete, uncountable)Synonym of kaolin: the kind of clay traditionally used in China to manufacture porcelain.

   “[...] that earthen or pliable matter commonly called porcellan, which is pure white,... wherof vessels of all kinds are very curiously framed...”

4. (countable, plural-normally)An object made of porcelain, (particularly) art objects or items of tableware.

   “The museum has an extensive collection of rare Chinese porcelains.”

5. (countable, rare)Synonym of cowrie.

   “In the kingdomes of Caiacan and Carazan, certaine sea shels are currant, which some men terme Porcelline.”

6. (countable, historical, obsolete)Synonym of wampum: strings of shells, beads, etc. used as ornamentation or currency; the composite shells, beads, etc.

   “We mett severall gangs of men to our greatest disadvantage, ffor we weare forced to sing, and those that came to see us gave porcelaine to those that most did us injury.”

7. (capitalized, countable, often)A kind of pigeon with deep brown and off-white feathers.

   “Those pretty spangled Toys [...] known by various names, as Porcelains, Hyacinths, Ermines, &c.”

verb

1. (transitive)To coat with a porcelain enamel.