potter's wheel
1
4.4
- noun
- /ˈpɑːtərz wiːl/
:
torno de alfarero
- At Fagnoon, you can learn to use a potter's wheel, metalworking, woodcarving, rug weaving, and ropework.
Examples
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Raw clay on a potter's wheel spins hypnotically, sensuously.
Fiction book (1990) -
Did you know the potter's wheel was invented on this island?
Fiction book (1994) -
All works featured here were thrown on the potter's wheel, then joined, altered, and engraved during the drying process.
Academic text (2007) -
You realize with surprise that it is not necessary to have a potter's wheel in order to achieve pots that have the appearance of perfect symmetry.
Academic text (2007) -
Ultimately, Cardew taught Kwali how to throw on a potter's wheel (FIG. 7).
Academic text (2007) -
The potter uses one hand to form the rim and the other to turn the palette in a motion parallel to that of a potter's wheel (Fig. 15).
Academic text (1994) -
She has shunned the potter's wheel, preferring instead to shape her vessels without its restraints of rotational symmetry.
Academic text (1996) -
Students gathered around the potter's wheel to create their unique pieces of art.
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The class learned how to shape clay using a potter's wheel during their pottery session.
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He skillfully spun the clay on the potter's wheel as he crafted a beautiful vase.
How Powered
- Archaic
1
4.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
potter's + wheel
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'potter' (a person who makes pottery) with 'wheel' (a rotating circular object): it denotes the wheel used by a potter to shape clay. The possessive/tool-noun composition is a regular, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
The noun potter's wheel comes from a simple workshop tool: a flat, round wheel that spins while a potter uses their hands to shape wet clay. Because the turning wheel helps the maker form round pots easily, the name now means the tool 'used to make pottery'.