Marmorean
/mɑːrˈmɔːr.i.ən/noun
Resembling or made of marble.
Did you know?Marmorean descends from the same ancient marble vocabulary used to describe the gleaming stone of Greek and Roman sculpture, where marble was closely associated with permanence and divine form.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mermer-
“A reconstructed reduplicated root associated with sparkling, shining, or glittering.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
μάρμαρος (mármaros)
“Crystalline stone or marble, named for its gleaming appearance.”
Classical Latin
Latin
marmor
“Marble; the polished, shining stone used in architecture and sculpture.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
marmoreus
“Of marble or resembling marble.”
17th Century
English
marmorean
“Marble-like; resembling marble in color, texture, or hardness.”
Modern English
English
marmorean
“Resembling or made of marble, usually in literary or artistic description.”