Art & MusicGreek → English
Plaster
/ˈplæstər/noun
A paste of lime or gypsum spread on walls to dry hard, and a dressing spread on cloth for a wound.
The Greek roots
ἐν
en
in, on
πλάσσω
plássō
to mould, daub
Literally: “daubed on”
The story of the word
The medical sense came first. Old English had plaster for a poultice smeared on cloth, straight from Latin emplastrum, itself the Greek ἔμπλαστρον, while the building sense arrived separately through Old French plastre. Πλάσσω, to mould soft material by hand, also gives plastic, plasma and protoplasm, which is why plastic surgery is about moulding and has nothing to do with petrochemicals.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old English and Old French → English
- First recorded
- Old English
Same family
plasticplasmaprotoplasm
In a sentence
The plaster came off the ceiling in sheets.
She put a plaster on the cut and carried on cooking.