marmoreal

mar•mor•e•al (mahr-MAWR-ee-uhl, -MOHR-)  adj

Definition:
1. of or relating to marble
2. resembling marble, as in smoothness, whiteness, or hardness
3. suggestive of marble or a marble statue especially in coldness or aloofness

marmorean adjective; marmoreally adverb

Origin:
1798, from L. marmoreus "of marble," from marmor, from or cognate with Gk. marmaros "marble, gleaming stone," of unknown origin, perhaps originally an adj. meaning "sparkling," which would connect it with marmairein "to shine"

Related:
Related Words: marble

Sentence Examples:
• But the poetry of this age has amply made up for any lack of innocence by its sumptuous fullness, its variety, its magnificent accomplishment, its felicitous response to a multitude of moods and apprehensions. It has struck out no new field for itself; it still remains where the romantic revolution of 1798 placed it; its aims are not other than were those of Coleridge and of Keats. ... It has been tender and fiery, severe and voluminous, gorgeous and marmoreal, in turns.  -Victorian Songs

• Was it her own,
  The voice I heard, marmoreal, strange, remote,
As though from yonder throne
  Clotho had spoken, and the headless throat
Had uttered words of stone?
-A Cluster of Grapes

• Turning to the right we went at a grand gallop past a villa that I recognized as the Villa Stuck from the old pictures I had seen; past other palaces until we reached a vast space upon which stood a marmoreal pile I knew to be the Mozart theater. -Old Fogy, James Huneker


Sources: Merriam-Webster, Free Dictionary, Online Etymology

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