I ran across a word I wasn’t familiar with the other day: lapidary.
After a leisurely journey with the Oxford English Dictionary, here are some of the definitions I found:
- Concerned with stones. rare.
- Of an inscription, etc.: Engraved on stone, esp. monumental stones. (b) Of style, etc.: Characteristic of or suitable for monumental inscriptions.
- An artificer who cuts, polishes, or engraves gems or precious stones.
- One who is skilled in the nature and kinds of gems or precious stones; a connoisseur of lapidary work. Obsolete.
If we are to become master wordsmiths, it helps to love words—the substance we forge.