Ceroplastic
/ˌsɛr.oʊˈplæs.tɪk/noun
Relating to the modeling of wax, especially in artistic or anatomical sculpture.
Did you know?Eighteenth-century ceroplastic anatomical models were used in medical museums to preserve detailed representations of bodies and diseases before modern imaging existed.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ker-
“Horn or hard substance; a proposed ancestral root connected with wax-related terms through the idea of hardness or hornlike material”
Ancient Greek
Greek
kērós
“Beeswax”
Ancient Greek
Greek
plastikós
“Able to be molded or shaped”
Latin
Latin
ceroplastica
“Wax modeling or wax sculpture”
18th Century
English
ceroplastic
“Relating to the art of modeling wax”
Modern English
English
ceroplastic
“Concerned with wax modeling, particularly anatomical or artistic sculpture”
Explore more surprising origins