porcelain Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun ceramic ware made of a more or less translucent ceramic

WordNet

Por"ce*lain noun
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) Purslain. Obs.
Por"ce*lain noun
Etymology
F. porcelaine, It. porcellana, orig., the porcelain shell, or Venus shell (Cypræa porcellana), from a dim. fr. L. porcus pig, probably from the resemblance of the shell in shape to a pig's back. Porcelain was called after this shell, either on account of its smoothness and whiteness, or because it was believed to be made from it. See Pork.
Definitions
  1. A fine translucent or semitransculent kind of earthenware, made first in China and Japan, but now also in Europe and America; -- called also China, or China ware.
    Porcelain, by being pure, is apt to break. Dryden.

Webster 1913