Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Plaster
Plas′ter
,Noun.
[AS., a plaster (in sense 1), fr. L.
emplastrum
, Gr. [GREEK], [GREEK], fr. [GREEK] to daub on, stuff in; [GREEK] in + [GREEK] to mold: cf. OF. plastre
a plaster (in sense 2), F. plâtre
. Cf. Plastic
, Emplaster
, Piaster
.] [Formerly written also
plaister
.] 1.
(Med.)
An external application of a consistency harder than ointment, prepared for use by spreading it on linen, leather, silk, or other material. It is adhesive at the ordinary temperature of the body, and is used, according to its composition, to produce a medicinal effect, to bind parts together, etc.;
as, a porous
. plaster
; sticking plaster
2.
A composition of lime, water, and sand, with or without hair as a bond, for coating walls, ceilings, and partitions of houses. See
Mortar
. 3.
Calcined gypsum, or plaster of Paris, especially when ground, as used for making ornaments, figures, moldings, etc.; or calcined gypsum used as a fertilizer.
Plaster cast
, a copy of an object obtained by pouring plaster of Paris mixed with water into a mold.
– Plaster of Paris
. [So called because originally brought from a suburb of Paris.]
(Chem.)
Anhydrous calcium sulphate, or calcined gypsum, which forms with water a paste which soon sets or hardens, and is used for casts, moldings, etc. The term is loosely applied to any plaster stone or species of gypsum.
– Plaster of Paris bandage
(Surg.)
, a bandage saturated with a paste of plaster of Paris, which on drying forms a perfectly fitting splint.
– Plaster stone
, any species of gypsum. See
Gypsum
.Plas′ter
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Plastered
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Plastering
.] [Cf. OF.
plastrer
to plaster (in sense 2), F. plâtrer
.] 1.
To cover with a plaster, as a wound or sore.
2.
To overlay or cover with plaster, as the ceilings and walls of a house.
3.
Fig.: To smooth over; to cover or conceal the defects of; to hide, as with a covering of plaster.
Bale.
Webster 1828 Edition
Plaster
PL`ASTER
,Noun.
1.
A composition of lime, water and sand, well mixed into a kind of paste and used for coating walls and partitions of houses. This composition when dry becomes hard, but still retains the name of plaster. Plaster is sometimes made of different materials, as chalk, gypsum,&c. and is sometimes used to parget the whole surface of a building.2.
In pharmacy, an external application of a harder consistence than an ointment, to be spread, according to different circumstances,either on linen or leather.Plaster of Paris, a composition of several species of gypsum dug near Montmartre, near Paris in France, used in building and in casting busts and statues. In popular language, this name is applied improperly to plaster-stone, or to any species of gypsum.
PL`ASTER
,Verb.
T.
1.
To cover with plaster, as a wound.2.
In popular language, to smooth over; to cover or conceal defects or irregularities.