Ceramics

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The practice of shaping and firing clay into durable and often decorative items spans both artistry and utility
2. This encompasses the diverse methods of creating hardened objects from clay, distinguished by their practical use and visual appeal
3. Items formed from clay and then hardened by heat for functional or decorative purposes ; the skill involved in molding and baking these clay items to create pottery, tiles, or sculptures

Etymology: The word "ceramics" is a plural noun formed from "ceramic" plus the suffix "-ics," which English uses for fields of study and practice, as in "physics" or "mathematics." The base "ceramic" comes from the Greek "keramikos," meaning "of pottery," derived from "keramos," meaning "potter's clay" or "earthenware." Its ancestry runs through Latin "ceramicus" and then into English as an adjective describing pottery and fired clay goods. Because "-ics" turns an adjective into a name for a body of knowledge or activity, "ceramics" shifted from describing pottery items to naming the whole craft and science of making them. The plural ending is a quirk of this suffix, which often gives a singular-looking noun a plural form even when it refers to one subject, so the word is grammatically plural though it usually names a single field.

Synonyms: pottery, earthenware