potter's clay
1
4.2
- noun
- /ˈpɑːtərz kleɪ/
- Ipa loved the earthy smell of red potter's clay and took great pleasure in shaping bowls and vessels.
Examples
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After mixing the potter's clay with water, he was ready to start creating his pottery.
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The fine texture of the potter's clay made it easy to shape into delicate bowls.
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The artist eagerly molded the potter's clay into beautiful sculptures on her wheel.
Synonyms
143
1.0
A heavy sticky earth that is soft when wet and used to make pots and bricks
1
6.7
Fine white clay used to make porcelain and other ceramics
1
4.6
A fine white powder from the ground used for pottery and paper
Soft clay with no iron used to make pots and models
A fine white clay made when rocks break down and used to make pottery and as a filler
A fine white clay used to make tobacco pipes, pottery or to whiten leather
How Hard
Surface Forms
Morphology
potter's + clay
The meaning is directly compositional: 'potter' (a person who makes pots) + 'clay' denotes clay associated with potters or used for pottery, and the possessive marks that relationship. This is a common, predictable noun + noun/possessive pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.
Etymology
The noun potter's clay comes from the soft clay a potter works on the wheel, shaped by hand into pots and bowls. So, potter's clay means the kind of clay used for 'making pottery and ceramics'.