Meanings
plural lapides lazuli · plural lapis lazulis
- countableuncountablechemistryA deep blue stone, used in making jewelry, and traditionally used to make the pigment ultramarine.
He saw the amber silk curtains wave to and fro: the middle window was open; in it stood a pillar of lapis lazuli, which supported an alabaster figure, Canova's Dansatrice.
1832, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833, The Talisman, page 66 - countableuncountableA deep, bright blue, like that of the stone.
- Of a deep, bright blue, like that of the stone.
I cannot convey to you the sheer and surreal scale of everything: the towering ship, the ropes, the ties, the anchor, the pier, the vast lapis lazuli dome of the sky.
1997, David Foster Wallace, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again”, in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Kindle edition, Little, Brown Book Group
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA deep blue stone, used in making jewelry, and traditionally used to make the pigment ultramarine.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Persianلاجورد
- Arabicلَازُوَرْد“lapis lazuli, azure”
- Middle Englishlapis lazuli
- Englishlapis lazuli
From Middle English lapis lazuli, from Medieval Latin lapis (“stone”) + lazulī, genitive singular of lazulum (“lapis lazuli, azure, the sky”), from Arabic لَازُوَرْد (lāzuward, “lapis lazuli, azure”), from Persian لاجورد (lâjvard). Compare azure, of the same origin.
More words from Middle English, Arabic, Persian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic لَازَوَرْد
- لَازَوَرْد (lāzaward)precious blue stone
Catalan lapislàtzuli
- lapislàtzuliprecious blue stone
Chinese Mandarin 青金石
- 青金石 (qīngjīnshí)precious blue stone
Czech lazurit
- lazuritprecious blue stone
Dutch lapis lazuli, lazuriet
- lapis lazuliprecious blue stone
- lazurietprecious blue stone
Esperanto lazurito
- lazuritoprecious blue stone
Finnish lapis lazuli, lapislatsuli
- lapis lazuliprecious blue stone
- lapislatsuliprecious blue stone
French lapis-lazuli
- lapis-lazuliprecious blue stone
German Lapislazuli, Lapis Lazuli
- Lapislazuliprecious blue stone
- Lapis Lazuliprecious blue stone
- Lasursteinprecious blue stone
- Lazuritprecious blue stone
Greek λαζουρίτης
- λαζουρίτης (lazourítis)precious blue stone
Hindi लाजवर्द, रावटी
- लाजवर्द (lājvard)precious blue stone
- रावटी (rāvṭī)precious blue stone
- वैडूर्य (vaiḍūrya)precious blue stone
- वैदूर्य (vaidūrya)precious blue stone
Hungarian lapis lazuli, lazúrkő
- lapis lazuliprecious blue stone
- lazúrkőprecious blue stone
Indonesian lazuardi
- lazuardiprecious blue stone
Irish lapis lazuli
- lapis lazuliprecious blue stone
Italian lapislazzuli
- lapislazzuliprecious blue stone
Japanese 瑠璃, 琉璃
- 瑠璃 (ruri)precious blue stone
- 琉璃 (ruri)precious blue stone
- 青金石 (seikinseki)precious blue stone
- ラピスラズリ (rapisu razuri)precious blue stone
Korean 청금석
- 청금석 (cheonggeumseok)precious blue stone
Latin sappīrus, lapis lazuli
- sappīrusprecious blue stone
- lapis lazuliprecious blue stone
Malay lazuardi
- lazuardiprecious blue stone
Persian لاجورد
- لاجورد (lâjvard)precious blue stone
Polish lapis lazuli, lapis-lazuli
- lapis lazuliprecious blue stone
- lapis-lazuliprecious blue stone
- lazurytprecious blue stone
Portuguese lápis-lazúli
- lápis-lazúliprecious blue stone
Punjabi ਲਾਜਵਰਦ
- ਲਾਜਵਰਦ (lājvarad)precious blue stone
Romanian lapislazuli, lazurit
- lapislazuliprecious blue stone
- lazuritprecious blue stone
Russian лазури́т, ля́пис-лазу́рь
- лазури́т (lazurít)precious blue stone
- ля́пис-лазу́рь (ljápis-lazúrʹ)precious blue stone
Scottish Gaelic clach-chopair
- clach-chopairprecious blue stone
Spanish lapislázuli, cianea
- lapislázuliprecious blue stone
- cianeaprecious blue stone
Swedish lapis lazuli, lasursten
- lapis lazuliprecious blue stone
- lasurstenprecious blue stone
Thai แลพิสแลซูลี
- แลพิสแลซูลี (lɛɛ-pí-lɛɛ-sui-lîi)precious blue stone
Turkish lazur taşı
- lazur taşıprecious blue stone
Ukrainian лазури́т, ля́піс-лазу́р
- лазури́т (lazurýt)precious blue stone
- ля́піс-лазу́р (ljápis-lazúr)precious blue stone
Urdu لاجورد
- لاجورد (lājvard)precious blue stone
Vietnamese đá da trời, ngọc lưu ly
- đá da trờiprecious blue stone
- ngọc lưu lyprecious blue stone
Welsh asur
- asurprecious blue stone
Cite this entry
lapis lazuli. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lapis%20lazuli
“lapis lazuli.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lapis%20lazuli. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lapis lazuli,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lapis%20lazuli.
Source: lapis lazuli on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.