n. (Bot.) Purslain. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ F. porcelaine, It. porcellana, orig., the porcelain shell, or Venus shell (Cypræa porcellana), from a dim. fr. L. porcus pig, probably from the resemblance of the shell in shape to a pig's back. Porcelain was called after this shell, either on account of its smoothness and whiteness, or because it was believed to be made from it. See Pork. ] A fine translucent or semitransculent kind of earthenware, made first in China and Japan, but now also in Europe and America; -- called also
Porcelain, by being pure, is apt to break. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]
Ivory porcelain,
Porcelain clay.
Porcelain crab (Zool.),
Porcelain jasper. (Min.)
Porcelain printing,
Porcelain shell (Zool.),
a. (Geol.) Baked like potter's lay; -- applied to clay shales that have been converted by heat into a substance resembling porcelain. [ 1913 Webster ]