gypsum

G2Y4P3S1U1M3
US, UK/ˈd͡ʒɪp.səm/

noun

A mineral consisting of hydrated calcium sulphate. When calcinated, it forms plaster of Paris.

Similar
plaster-stone
OriginLatin gypsum ← Ancient Greek γύψος →
Less commonScrabble 14
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Meanings

noungypsum (countable and uncountable, plural gypsums or gypsa)

plural gypsums · plural gypsa · alternative obsolete gypse

  1. countableuncountableA mineral consisting of hydrated calcium sulphate. When calcinated, it forms plaster of Paris.

    Besides being abundant, gypsum is easily refined into a powder for plaster or formed into sheets of wallboard.

    1980, Robert M. Jones, editor, Walls and Ceilings, Time-Life Books, →ISBN, page 7
    1 more example

    ...but he has been able to analyze the matter removed, and to prove it, by chemical evidence, to consist of Prussian blue, and gypsum principally.

    1847, editorial staff, “Chemical Analysis of Tea”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 10, page 80

    Synonyms: plaster-stone

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA mineral consisting of hydrated calcium sulphate. When calcinated, it forms plaster of Paris.

Similar
plaster-stone

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekγύψος
  2. Latingypsum
  3. Englishgypsum

From Latin gypsum, from Ancient Greek γύψος (gúpsos). Doublet of gesso.

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek γύψος
  • γύψος (gúpsos)mineral
Arabic جِصّ, جِبْص
  • جِصّ (jiṣṣ)mineral
  • جِبْص (jibṣ)mineral
  • جِبْس (jibs)mineral
  • جِبْسِين (jibsīn)mineral
Basque gisu
  • gisumineral
Bulgarian гипс
  • гипс (gips)mineral
Catalan guix, parrell
  • guixmineral
  • parrellmineral
Chinese Mandarin 石膏
  • 石膏 (shígāo)mineral
Czech sádrovec
  • sádrovecmineral
Danish gips
  • gipsmineral
Dutch gips
  • gipsmineral
Esperanto gipso
  • gipsomineral
Estonian kips
  • kipsmineral
Finnish kipsi
  • kipsimineral
French gypse
  • gypsemineral
German Gips
  • Gipsmineral
Greek γύψος
  • γύψος (gýpsos)mineral
Hebrew גֶּבֶס
  • גֶּבֶס (géves)mineral
Hindi हरसौंठ, कुलनार
  • हरसौंठ (harsa͠uṭh)mineral
  • कुलनार (kulnār)mineral
Hungarian gipsz
  • gipszmineral
Icelandic gifs
  • gifsmineral
Italian gesso
  • gessomineral
Japanese 石膏
  • 石膏 (sekkō)mineral
Korean 석고
  • 석고 (seokgo)mineral
Latin gypsum
  • gypsummineral
Latvian ģipsis
  • ģipsismineral
Malay medang sila
  • medang silamineral
Norwegian Bokmål gips
  • gipsmineral
Persian گچ
  • گچ (gač)mineral
Polish gips
  • gipsmineral
Portuguese gipsita, gipsite
  • gipsitamineral
  • gipsitemineral
Romanian ghips
  • ghipsmineral
Russian гипс
  • гипс (gips)mineral
Spanish yeso
  • yesomineral
Swedish gips
  • gipsmineral
Tagalog yeso
  • yesomineral
Tamil உறைகளிக்கல்
  • உறைகளிக்கல் (uṟaikaḷikkal)mineral
Thai ยิปซัม, เกลือจืด
  • ยิปซัม (yíp-sâm)mineral
  • เกลือจืด (glʉʉa-jʉ̀ʉt)mineral
Turkish alçı taşı
  • alçı taşımineral
Ukrainian гіпс
  • гіпс (hips)mineral
Vietnamese thạch cao
  • thạch caomineral
Welsh gypswm, glyfaen
  • gypswmmineral
  • glyfaenmineral
Cite this entry
APA

gypsum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gypsum

MLA

“gypsum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gypsum. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gypsum,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gypsum.

Source: gypsum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.