marble
American Heritage Dictionary:
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mar·ble
(mär'bəl) 
n.
To mottle and streak (paper, for example) with colors and veins in imitation of marble.
adj.
n.
- A metamorphic rock formed by alteration of limestone or dolomite, often irregularly colored by impurities, and used especially in architecture and sculpture.
- A piece of this rock.
- A sculpture made from this rock.
- Something resembling or suggesting metamorphic rock, as in being very hard, smooth, or cold: a heart of marble; a brow of marble.
- Games.
- A small hard ball, usually of glass, used in children's games.
- marbles (used with a sing. verb) Any of various games played with marbles.
- marbles (used with a sing. verb) Slang. Common sense; sanity: completely lost his marbles after the stock market crash.
- Marbling.
To mottle and streak (paper, for example) with colors and veins in imitation of marble.
adj.
- Composed of metamorphic rock: a marble hearth.
- Resembling metamorphic rock in consistency, texture, venation, color, or coldness.
[Middle English, from Old French marbre, from Latin marmor, from Greek marmaros.]
marbly mar'bly adj.
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Granular limestone or dolomite that has recrystallized under the influence of heat, pressure, and aqueous solutions. The main mineral in marble is calcite. Commercially, marble includes all decorative calcium-rich rocks that can be polished, as well as some serpentines. Marbles are used principally for buildings and monuments, interior decoration, statuary, tabletops, and novelties. Colour and appearance are their most important qualities. Statuary marble, the most valuable variety, must be pure white and of uniform grain size.
For more information on marble, visit Britannica.com.
A term applied commercially to any limestone or dolomite taking polish. Marble is extensively used for building and ornamental purposes. See also Dolomite; Limestone.
In petrography the term marble is applied to metamorphic rocks composed of recrystallized calcite or dolomite. Schistosity, often controlled by the original bedding, is usually weak except in impure micaceous or tremolite-bearing types. Calcite (marble) deforms readily by plastic flow even at low temperatures. Therefore, granulation is rare, and instead of schistosity there develops a flow structure characterized by elongation and bending of the grains concomitant with a strong development of twin lamellae. See also Metamorphic rocks; Mineralogy; Schist.
Pure marbles attaining 99% calcium carbonate, CaCO3, are often formed by simple recrystallization of sedimentary limestone. Dolomite marbles are usually formed by metasomatism. See also Calcite; Dolomite; Metasomatism.
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marble
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The early history of marbles is still obscure. Certainly, in the ancient world children played games rolling nuts, and coloured clay balls have been found in Egyptian tombs, but it is not known for sure what they were used for. It seems unlikely that such a simple and obvious game did not occur to people before the first definite references (as tribekugeln) in 13th century Germany, and in Bruegel's picture of children's games in 1560. The first mention in English calls the game ‘bowling-stones’, but this is a translation by Charles Hoole of Comenius's Orbis Pictus (1659). There are numerous variants of marbles play, and usually a local specialist terminology to go with each.
The marbles available in England in the late 17th century were probably made of actual marble, or at least alabaster, but later materials include earthenware, painted porcelain (imported from Germany), stone, and clay. The modern glass marbles, with the intriguing coloured swirl in the middle, emerged in the 1840s, made possible by developments in glass manufacture. Once these appeared they rapidly became more prized than the drab clay marbles prevalent at the time, and gradually superseded them as mass production (latterly usually abroad) brought the price down. Some players used metal ball-bearings, but others refused to play with anyone using such things as they could too easily destroy the glass or clay marbles. Another source of supply was the round stopper used in early fizzy-drink bottles. Local names include: Taws, Alleys (Blood-alleys had a streak of red through them), Cat's eyes, and Marvels.
Marbles has been a children's game for a very long time, but there are a few instances of its survival in the adult sphere, particularly in Sussex, where a well-known annual Good Friday championship match takes place at Tinsley Green, and another is held at Battle.
Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.
- Opie and Opie, 1997: 17-55
- Gomme, 1894:
i. 364 (and other pages) - Wales, 1990: 52-3
A metamorphic rock composed largely of calcite or dolomite; often highly polished to enhance its appearance; available in different colors that result from differences in mineral content.
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[Ma]
A granular limestone or dolomite composed of calcium-magnesium carbonate that has become recrystallized under the influence of heat, pressure, and aqueous solutions. This dense fine-textured stone can be polished and was used for sculpture and decoration in many civilizations of the Old World from Egyptian times onwards.
Swirls, sulphides and Benningtons are a few of the many kinds of marbles. Swirls are named for the swirled design on an alabaster or marble playing piece; sulphides are a somewhat larger glass globe with a small figurine inside, usually of an animal; and Benningtons are made of clay, fired in a kiln, and having a salt glaze.A favorite children's toy over the centuries, marbles have been found in excavations in India and ancient Egypt, and were among the items buried along with young King Tutankhamen. They used to be made of clay or stone; in more recent times, they're fashioned from glass or ceramics. There are several versions of the game of marbles — most have to do with knocking one marble against another, to drop the second sphere into a hole or inside a border of some kind. It's National Knuckles Down Month in America, named for the starting position in a marbles match; the player begins with his knuckle against the ground.
From our Archives: Today's Highlights, April 14, 2011
marble, metamorphic rock composed wholly or in large part of calcite or dolomite crystals, the crystalline texture being the result of metamorphism of limestone by heat and pressure. The term marble is loosely applied to any limestone or dolomite that takes a good polish and is otherwise suitable as a building stone or ornamental stone. Marbles range in color from snow-white to gray and black, many varieties being some shade of red, yellow, pink, green, or buff; the colors, which are caused by the presence of impurities, are frequently arranged in bands or patches and add to the beauty of the stone when it is cut and polished. Marble is used as a material in statuary and monuments, as a facing stone in buildings and residences, and for pillars, colonnades, paneling, wainscoting, and floor tiles. Like all limestones, it is corroded by water and acid fumes and is thus ultimately an uneconomical material for use in exposed places and in large cities. The presence of certain impurities decreases its durability. Marble was extensively used by the ancient Greeks; the Parthenon and other famous buildings were constructed of white Pentelic marble from Mt. Pentelicus in Attica, and the finest statues, e.g., the Venus de' Medici, from the remarkably lustrous Parian marble from Paros in the Cyclades. These same quarries were later used by the Romans. Among the famous marbles of Italy are the Carrara and Siena marbles of Tuscany, which were used by the Romans and the Italian sculptors of the Renaissance. Marbles are quarried in all parts of the world. The finest marbles in the United States come from Vermont, which produces large quantities. Other states important as marble producers are Massachusetts, Maryland, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, California, Colorado, and Arizona. See alabaster.
Word Tutor:
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marble
IN BRIEF: A small ball of glass that is used in various games.
I stepped on a marble and fell onto the floor.
LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!
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noun
noun, Austral and NZ
1:pl. The testicles. (1865 —) .
2: to make (or keep) one's marble good To ingratiate oneself. (1898 —) .
D. Crick Take my tip, if you wanter make your marble good: say nothing (1963).
3:pl. orig N Amer One's mental faculties; one's sanity. (1902 —) .
Ottawa Journal 'I still have most of my marbles,' he said cheerfully (1973).
4: to pass (chuck, etc.) in one's marbleAustral To die, to give up. (1908 —) .
J. Hibberd What if I pass in my marble like this? (1972).
[In sense 1 prob. from earlier sense, small glass ball, but latterly rationalized as a shortening of rhyming slang marble halls balls.]
noun, Austral and NZ
1:
2: to make (or keep) one's marble good To ingratiate oneself. (1898 —) .
D. Crick Take my tip, if you wanter make your marble good: say nothing (1963).
3:
Ottawa Journal 'I still have most of my marbles,' he said cheerfully (1973).
4: to pass (chuck, etc.) in one's marble
J. Hibberd What if I pass in my marble like this? (1972).
[In sense 1 prob. from earlier sense, small glass ball, but latterly rationalized as a shortening of rhyming slang marble halls balls.]
| map, mantee, manor | |
| marble orchard, marble town, mare |
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categories related to 'marble'
- Metamorphic rocks
- Stones, Bricks, Tiles, Glass, and Metals - marble: hard, crystalline limestone with white, streaked, or mottled surface that takes high polish
- Sculpture Tools and Techniques - marble: very hard limestone rock used as classic carving material
See crossword solutions for the clue Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Marble
For other uses, see Marble (disambiguation).
Marble is a non-foliated metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.
Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.[1]
Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material.
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Contents
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Etymology
The word "marble" derives from the Greek "μάρμαρον" (mármaron),[2] from "μάρμαρος" (mármaros), "crystalline rock", "shining stone",[3][4] perhaps from the verb "μαρμαίρω" (marmaírō), "to flash, sparkle, gleam".[5] This stem is also the basis for the English word marmoreal, meaning "marble-like."
Whilst the English term resembles the French marbre, most other European languages (e.g. Spanish mármol, Italian marmo, Portuguese mármore, German, Norwegian, Danish and Swedish marmor, Armenian marmar, Dutch marmer, Polish marmur, Turkish mermer, Czech mramor and Russian мрáмор ) follow the original Greek.
Physical origins
Marble is a rock resulting from metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks, most commonly limestone or dolomite rock. Metamorphism causes variable recrystallization of the original carbonate mineral grains.
The resulting marble rock is typically composed of an interlocking mosaic of carbonate crystals. Primary sedimentary textures and structures of the original carbonate rock (protolith) have typically been modified or destroyed.
Pure white marble is the result of metamorphism of a very pure (silicate-poor) limestone or dolomite protolith. The characteristic swirls and veins of many colored marble varieties are usually due to various mineral impurities such as clay, silt, sand, iron oxides, or chert which were originally present as grains or layers in the limestone.
Green coloration is often due to serpentine resulting from originally high magnesium limestone or dolostone with silica impurities. These various impurities have been mobilized and recrystallized by the intense pressure and heat of the metamorphism.
Types
Main article: List of types of marble
Examples of historically notable marble varieties and locations:
| Marble name | Color | Location | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coral red marble | red, white lines | Tongshan County, Hubei, China | China |
| Emperador dark marble | dark nets | Tongshan County, Hubei, China | China |
| Orange marble | orange, white lines | Tongshan County, Hubei, China | China |
| Imperial wood vein marble | yellow,wood vein | Tongshan County, Hubei, China | China |
| Tiger skin marble | tiger skin | Tongshan County, Hubei, China | China |
| Black marquina marble | black, white lines | Tongshan County, Hubei, China | China |
| Lotus green marble | green and white color, lotus shape | Tongshan County, Hubei, China | China |
| Gold jade marble | dark, golden lines | Tongshan County, Hubei, China | China |
| Brown marble | gray, white lines | Tongshan County, Hubei, China | China |
| Bucova marble | white, gray | Băuţar, Caraş-Severin County (applied in Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa) | Romania |
| Carrara marble | white or blue-gray | Carrara | Italy |
| Connemara marble | green | Connemara | Ireland |
| Creole marble | white and blue/black | Pickens County, Georgia | United States |
| Ziarat white marble | Pure white | Ziarat Region | Pakistan |
| Badal marble | Grey, grayish white | Balochistan | Pakistan |
| Boticena marble | Various colors and textures | Balochistan | Pakistan |
| Etowah marble | pink, salmon, rose | Pickens County, Georgia | United States |
| Macael marble | white | Macael, Almeria | Spain |
| Makrana marble | white | Makrana | India |
| Murphy marble | white | Pickens and Gilmer Counties, Georgia | United States |
| Parian marble | pure-white, fine-grained | Island of Paros | Greece |
| Pentelic marble[6] | pure-white, fine-grained semitranslucent | Penteliko Mountain, Athens | Greece |
| Phrygian marble | purple | Phrygia | Turkey |
| Purbeck marble | Grey/brown | Isle of Purbeck | United Kingdom |
| Ruskeala marble | white | near Ruskeala, Karelia | Russia |
| Sienna marble | yellow with violet, red, blue or white veins[7] | near Siena, Tuscany | Italy |
| Bianco Sivec | white | near Prilep | Republic of Macedonia |
| Swedish green marble | green | near Kolmården, Södermanland | Sweden |
| Sylacauga marble | white | Talladega County, Alabama | United States |
| Tennessee marble | pale pink to cedar-red | Knox, Blount and Hawkins Counties, Tennessee | United States |
| Vermont marble | white | Proctor, Vermont | United States |
| Yule marble | uniform pure white | near Marble, Colorado | United States |
| Wunsiedel marble | white | Wunsiedel, Bavaria | Germany |
| Skye marble | white | Isle of Skye | Scotland |
Uses
Sculpture
White marble has been prized for its use in sculptures since classical times. This preference has to do with its softness, relative isotropy and homogeneity, and a relative resistance to shattering. Also, the low index of refraction of calcite allows light to penetrate several millimeters into the stone before being scattered out, resulting in the characteristic waxy look which gives "life" to marble sculptures of the human body.
Construction marble
Construction marble is a stone which is composed of calcite, dolomite or serpentine which is capable of taking a polish.[8] More generally in construction, specifically the dimension stone trade, the term "marble" is used for any crystalline calcitic rock (and some non-calcitic rocks) useful as building stone. For example, Tennessee marble is really a dense granular fossiliferous gray to pink to maroon Ordovician limestone that geologists call the Holston Formation.
Production
According to the United States Geological Survey, U.S. dimension marble production in 2006 was 46,400 tons valued at $18.1 million, compared to 72,300 tons valued at $18.9 million in 2005. Crushed marble production (for aggregate and industrial uses) in 2006 was 11.8 million tons valued at $116 million, of which 6.5 million tons was finely ground calcium carbonate and the rest was construction aggregate. For comparison, 2005 crushed marble production was 7.76 million tons valued at $58.7 million, of which 4.8 million tons was finely ground calcium carbonate and the rest was construction aggregate. U.S. dimension marble demand is about 1.3 million tons. The DSAN World Demand for (finished) Marble Index has shown a growth of 12% annually for the 2000–2006 period, compared to 10.5% annually for the 2000–2005 period. The largest dimension marble application is tile.
Pakistan is one of the largest marble exporters of the world [9] with exports totaling to around a 100,000 tonnes per annum. China is the chief importer of marble, specifically Pakistani marble, with imports amounting to more than 70,000 tonnes in a single calendar year.
Artificial marble
Marble dust is combined with cement or synthetic resins to make reconstituted or cultured marble. The appearance of marble can be simulated with faux marbling, a painting technique that imitates the stone's color patterns.
Cultural associations
As the favorite medium for Greek and Roman sculptors and architects (see classical sculpture), marble has become a cultural symbol of tradition and refined taste. Its extremely varied and colorful patterns make it a favorite decorative material, and it is often imitated in background patterns for computer displays, etc.
Places named after the stone include Marblehead, Ohio; Marblehead, Massachusetts; Marble Arch, London; the Sea of Marmara; India's Marble Rocks; and the towns of Marble, Minnesota; Marble, Colorado; Marble Falls, Texas, and Marble Hill, Manhattan, New York. The Elgin Marbles are marble sculptures from the Parthenon that are on display in the British Museum. They were brought to Britain by the Earl of Elgin.
See also
- Cultured marble, marble powder with a binder.
- International Association of Marble, Slate and Stone Polishers, Rubbers and Sawyers, Tile and Marble setters' Helpers and Marble Mosaic and Terrazzo Workers' Helpers
- faux marbling, painting surfaces to look like marble.
- Marble sculpture
- Paper marbling
- Pietra dura, inlaying with marble and other stones.
- Scagliola, imitating marble with plasterwork.
- Verd antique – sometimes (erroneously) called "serpentine marble"
- Yule Marble
References
- ^ Kearey, Philip (2001). Dictionary of Geology, Penguin Group, London and New York, p. 163. ISBN 978-0-14-051494-0
- ^ μάρμαρον, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
- ^ μάρμαρος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
- ^ Marble, Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Askoxford.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-30.
- ^ μαρμαίρω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
- ^ Pentelic marble – Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Britannica.com. Retrieved on 2011-09-30.
- ^ Paint and Decorate: Sienna marble Retrieved 2012-04-30
- ^ Marble Institute of America pp. 223 Glossary
- ^ http://tribune.com.pk/story/251020/export-earnings-china-largest-importer-of-marble/
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marble |
- Dimension Stone Statistics and Information – United States Geological Survey minerals information for dimension stone
- USGS 2005 Minerals Yearbook: Stone, Crushed
- USGS 2005 Minerals Yearbook: Stone, Dimension
- USGS 2006 Minerals Yearbook: Stone, Crushed
- USGS 2006 Minerals Yearbook: Stone, Dimension
- Marble Institute of America
- Marble at the Open Directory Project
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
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Marble
Dansk (Danish)
n. - marmor, marmor-, marmorlignende
v. tr. - marmorere, male som marmor
adj. - marmoreret
idioms:
- loose one's marbles blive gak/skør
Nederlands (Dutch)
knikker, (mv) knikkerspel, marmer, iets van marmer, ijs (figuurlijk), gemarmerde tekening, combinatie van vet en mager in vlees, (mv) verstand, marmeren beeld, marmeren, gemarmerd, een gemarmerd uiterlijk geven aan
Français (French)
n. - marbre, bille (jeux), (Art) marbre (sculpture)
v. tr. - marbrer
adj. - de marbre, en marbre
idioms:
- loose one's marbles perdre la boule
Deutsch (German)
n. - Murmel, Marmor
adj. - aus Marmor, Marmor-
v. - marmorieren
idioms:
- loose one's marbles nicht alle Tassen im Schrank haben
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μάρμαρο, γλυπτό, βόλος, γκαζά, μπίλια
adj. - μαρμαρένιος, (μτφ.) ψυχρός
v. - επιμαρμαρώνω
idioms:
- loose one's marbles τρελαίνομαι
Italiano (Italian)
biglia, marmo, marmoreo
idioms:
- loose one's marbles uscire fuori di cervello
Português (Portuguese)
n. - mármore (m), bola de gude (f)
adj. - marmóreo
v. - marmorizar
idioms:
- loose one's marbles pirar (gír.)
Русский (Russian)
окрашивать под мрамор, мрамор, мраморный
idioms:
- loose one's marbles рехнуться
Español (Spanish)
n. - canica, bolita, mármol
v. tr. - jaspear
adj. - de mármol, marmóreo
idioms:
- loose one's marbles perder la chaveta
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - marmor, kula, marmorering
adj. - marmor-, marmorerad
v. - marmorera
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
大理石, 雕刻品, 石弹, 使具有大理石花纹, 大理石的, 坚硬的, 冷酷无情的
idioms:
- loose one's marbles 丧失理智
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 大理石, 雕刻品, 石彈
v. tr. - 使具有大理石花紋
adj. - 大理石的, 堅硬的, 冷酷無情的
idioms:
- loose one's marbles 喪失理智
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 구슬, 대리석, 지구, 이성
v. tr. - 대리석처럼 만들다
adj. - 딱딱한, 흰색의, 대리석[과 같은]
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 大理石, 大理石彫刻物, ビー玉, おはじき
adj. - 大理石の, 堅い, 大理石のようになめらかな
v. - 大理石模様にする, 霜降りにする
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) رخام, مرمر (صفه) مرمري, رخامي (فعل) يرصع بالرخام
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - שיש, גולה, תכונות שכליות של אדם (עגה), דבר העשוי שיש או מזכיר שיש בתכונותיו, פסלים (באוסף)
v. tr. - הכתים, צבע, עשוי שכבות מתחלפות של שומן ובשר רזה
adj. - שיישי, קשה, חלק, קר
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