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marmoreal - adj., of, relating to, or resembling marble.
Whether in hardness, smoothness, coldness, whiteness, or whatnot. Not that white is the first thing I think of in marble colors, but whatever. Also, suggestive of a marble statue, thus the cold part, so possibly also applied to someone who's aloof. Pronounced mar-MOHR-ee-ehl or mar-MAWR-ee-ehl. Most dictionaries give a first English use of the 1790s, but Merriam-Webster claims to have a citation from the 1650s -- take your pick -- but all agree it comes form Latin marmoreus, made of marble, from marmor, marble, in turn from Greek mármaros, a form of marmaírein, to sparkle. And yet there's no suggestion that marmoreal can also refer to glittery, which only goes to show that etymology is not destiny.
---L.
Whether in hardness, smoothness, coldness, whiteness, or whatnot. Not that white is the first thing I think of in marble colors, but whatever. Also, suggestive of a marble statue, thus the cold part, so possibly also applied to someone who's aloof. Pronounced mar-MOHR-ee-ehl or mar-MAWR-ee-ehl. Most dictionaries give a first English use of the 1790s, but Merriam-Webster claims to have a citation from the 1650s -- take your pick -- but all agree it comes form Latin marmoreus, made of marble, from marmor, marble, in turn from Greek mármaros, a form of marmaírein, to sparkle. And yet there's no suggestion that marmoreal can also refer to glittery, which only goes to show that etymology is not destiny.
---L.
