potter's earth
- noun
- /ˈpɑːtərz ɜrθ/
:
tierra para alfarería
- She bought a large bag of potter's earth for her ceramics class.
Examples
-
The sculptor preferred to use potter's earth because it was easy to shape and did not stain.
-
Many ancient vessels were crafted from finely purified potter's earth.
-
I love potter's earth!
-
The potter's earth is smooth.
-
She bought a large bag of potter's earth for her ceramics class.
-
Many ancient vessels were crafted from finely purified potter's earth.
-
The sculptor preferred to use potter's earth because it was easy to shape and did not stain.
Synonyms
171
1.0
A heavy sticky earth that is soft when wet and used to make pots and bricks
Soft natural clay used to make pots like bowls and vases before heating
Surface Forms
Morphology
potter's + earth
The meaning 'a type of clay used in pottery' is directly derivable from combining 'potter's' (belonging to a potter) with 'earth' (soil/clay), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to the earth used by potters for modeling. The possessive noun+noun composition is a common, compositional pattern found across languages, making the expression transparent rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
Potter's earth comes from the simple picture of a potter (a person who makes pots) using earth (clay) to shape their work. Because potters used this fine, clean clay for making and baking pots, the name came to mean 'a type of clay used for pottery or modeling'.