Terra Cotta
/ˌtɛr.ə ˈkɒt.ə/noun
A hard fired clay used for pottery, sculpture, and building materials, usually left unglazed.
Did you know?The term comes straight from Italian, where terra means “earth” and cotta means “cooked,” so every terracotta object is basically ancient dirt that survived fire.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
terra
“earth, ground”
Latin
Latin
cocta
“cooked, baked”
Italian
Italian
terra cotta
“baked earth; fired clay”
18th Century
English
terra-cotta
“fired clay, especially for sculpture or decoration”
Modern English
English
terracotta
“a reddish-brown fired clay material or the color of that clay”
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