alabaster
noun·/ˈæl.ə.bæs.tɚ/
1. A fine-grained, often translucent stone, commonly gypsum (and sometimes calcite), valued for carving and for the way light seems to linger within it.
In the museum’s quiet, the alabaster figure glowed as if it had been filled with moonlight and sealed.
2. A pale, smooth, luminous whiteness, evocative of that stone.
Her alabaster throat caught the candle’s tremble, and even the air looked softer for it.
adjective
Pale and softly luminous, with a smoothness that suggests carved stone.
Alabaster clouds drifted over the lake, bright but not harsh, as though the day had been polished.
Etymology
From Latin alabaster, from Greek alabastros/alabastos, used of both the stone and the small perfume vessels (alabastron) often made from it. The ultimate origin is uncertain and much debated, but the semantic loop is clear: material and vessel naming each other.
Related Words
gypsumthe common mineral form of alabaster
calcitethe other principal material called “alabaster”
marblea near-substitute lacking alabaster’s softness and glow
ivoryshared connotations of smooth pale luxury