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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A pale to very pale green.
  2. n. A type of pottery having a pale green glaze, originally produced in China.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A pale and rather grayish green color occurring especially in porcelain and enameled earthenware. The shades are numerous. In Oriental wares the celadon glaze is often crackled; and the Japanese and Chinese porcelain decorated in this way, without other ornamentation, is particularly esteemed. It is also one of the favorite colors of the porcelain of Sèvres. Compare seagreen.
  2. Having the color celadon.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A pale green colour or tinted with gray.
  2. n. A pale green Chinese glaze.
  3. n. A ceramic ware with a pale green glaze.
  4. adj. Of a pale green colour tinted with gray.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. A pale sea-green color; also, porcelain or fine pottery of this tint.

Etymologies

  1. French, after Céladon, a character in L'Astrée, a romance by Honoré d'Urfé (1568-1625), French writer, after Celadōn, a character in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Examples

  • “It was done in soft, warm colors: salmon and beige and a pale green she called celadon.”

    Simon & Schuster: Willow

  • “These cups were of that sea-green tint called celadon, with a very wonderful glow and radiance.”

    The Line of Love Dizain des Mariages

  • “There was what we call "celadon" [green-glazed] porcelain — little bowls and cups, and pots with spouts in the shape of chickens 'heads, a typical Six Dynasties object — some mirrors, and some stone slabs.”

    Digging Up China's Best Exhibitions

  • “Still, terms such as celadon, souci, or goose shit green, like aurore and scarlet, represent a precise definition at the moment of its use, even if that definition is imprecise over time. 8 Web Link”

    The Creation of Color in Eighteenth-Century Europe

  • “These nevertheless embellished only certain of the mends — for example a missing or shattered portion of the foot or rim — and stand in shimmering contrast with the unctuous celadon or other luminous or earthy glazes with which the vessel was originally fired.”

    Archive 2009-07-01

  • “Later, imported porcelains caught the eye of 13th- through 17th-century potters who not only imitated the colors—blue and white, celadon and white—but riffed on such motifs as rising phoenixes, swimming fish and writhing dragons.”

    The Wall Street Journal: The Many Paths Toward an Islamic Aesthetic

  • “Mr. Smith said interviews will also happen in the area, which features banquettes in bronze, aqua, celadon, pecan and sandalwood hues; paintings by Thomas Hart Benton and Rockwell Kent; Mr. Smith's own art books; energy-efficient TVs; bottles of water; a hibiscus bamboo floor lamp; a sound-absorbing cork floor; battery-operated votives no lit candles allowed! and, just to make even Nicole Kidman feel at home, a calming bowl of lemons.”

    The Wall Street Journal: Oscar Greenroom: Aqua, Pecan, Lemons

  • “It includes four black 13-inch freeform platters, four celadon 10-inch wave plates, four cantaloupe 7-inch triangles and four 7-inch copper bowl.”

    Mug Pfaltzgraff | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles

  • “The Dokhan features Paris' first champagne bar in a room featuring walls imported from Italy, of celadon, wood panels with gilt trim enhanced by soft, low light from tapers on wall sconces and chandeliers.”

    The Huffington Post: Denise Dennis: See, Stroll and Savor Paris in Spring

  • “The temple of tresses held its grand opening bash at Ricochet in Miami's microcosm of Midtown, home to such urban creature comforts as Target, West Elm, The Dog Bar, Gigi café and PetSmart, where -- good to know -- they sell fresh organic wheatgrass for cats and little Martha Stewart pet poopy bags in a lovely celadon green.”

    The Huffington Post: Tara Solomon: For the Love of Liz, and Other Miami Moments

Show 10 more examples...

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  • boogie The charm of celadon from National Palace Museum in Taipei ( color of celadon results from natural iron oxide in the glaze, which produces the green hue when fired in a reducing atmosphere kiln." Nov 11, 2009

  • grant_barrett This word was chosen as Wordnik word of the day. Nov 11, 2009

  • grant_barrett http://blog.wordnik.com/wp-content/uploads/celadon-vase-300x300.jpg"> Nov 11, 2009

  • rolig This word is derived from the name of the hero Céladon, in d'Urfé's 17th-century romance L'Astrée, whose name was itself borrowed from a figure in Ovid's Metamorphoses. I don't know how it became associated with grayish green, though Webster's 3rd College tells me that, because of the d'Urfé character, it first (in French) meant "a tender lover." Dec 4, 2007

  • reesetee Oh. So a real diplodocus or small triceratops. That changes everything. Oct 15, 2007

  • chained_bear No, it's shaped kind of like, I don't know... either a diplodocus or a smaller version of a triceratops. Only it's celery- (greenish-yellow) colored.

    And it isn't actually, you know, glazed. Cuz then it couldn't move and make that "AAAAAAHRT!" noise that it makes. Oct 15, 2007

  • reesetee Made out of celadon?? Me too! ;-) Oct 15, 2007

  • chained_bear I know what this word actually means, but whenever I hear it, I always picture a celery-colored dinosaur. Oct 15, 2007

‘celadon’ has been looked up 2328 times, loved by 7 people, added to 71 lists, commented on 8 times, and has a Scrabble score of 10.