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Glite Dictionary
lapidarian

lapidarian

9.9
Relating to writing cut into stone, often on monuments or walls
  • adjective
  • /ˌlæpɪˈdɛəriən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : lapidario
  • The ancient temple's walls bore a lapidarian inscription honoring the gods.

Examples

  • Scholars studied the lapidarian records to reconstruct the city's lost history.

  • The lapidarian texts were difficult to translate.

  • Only a few surviving documents from that era exist, most of them lapidarian in nature.

  • This is a lapidarian inscription.

  • The ancient temple's walls bore a lapidarian inscription honoring the gods.

  • Only a few surviving documents from that era exist, most of them lapidarian in nature.

  • Scholars studied the lapidarian records to reconstruct the city's lost history.

Synonyms

epigraphic
vslapidarian
  • Specialized
1 9.5

About the study of writing carved on stone or metal, often on monuments

is limited to inscriptions made specifically on stone monuments
epigraphical
vslapidarian
  • Specialized
9.2

Relating to writing carved on stone, for example on a monument or building

is limited to inscriptions made specifically on stone monuments
inscriptional
vslapidarian
  • Specialized
8.4

About words carved or written on a hard surface

is about inscriptions specifically on stone monuments rather than any surface
inscribed
vslapidarian
5.1

Written or carved on a surface like a stone

refers specifically to inscriptions made on stone monuments rather than any surface

Surface Forms

lapidarian positive

Morphology

lapidarian = lapidary (transparent) = lapidary + ian

Formed by adding the adjectival suffix '-ian' to the known English word 'lapidary'; the meaning related to stone inscriptions is directly linked to 'lapidary'.

Etymology

The word lapidarian comes from the Latin root lapis meaning 'stone' and shares that root with lapidary, a word for working with or cutting stones. So lapidarian describes writing or records that are literally 'on stone'.