Word for the day: plaster

plaster |ˈplɑːstə|                                                             *esparadrapo (en Español)




DEFINITION
noun1 [ mass noun ] a soft mixture of sand and cement and sometimes lime with water, for spreading on walls, ceilings, or other structures, to form a smooth hard surface when dried.• (also plaster of Paris )a hard white substance made by the addition of water to powdered and partly dehydrated gypsum, used for holding broken bones in place and making sculptures and casts.• the powder from which plaster of Paris is made.2 (also sticking plaster )Brit.an adhesivestrip of material for covering cuts and wounds.• dated a bandage on which a poultice or liniment is spread for application.

                        

verb [ with obj. ]
1 cover (a wall, ceiling, or other structure) with plaster.• (plaster something with/in) coat or cover something with (a substance), especially to an extent considered excessive:a face plastered in heavy make-up.• [ with obj. and adverbial ] make (hair) lie flat by applying a liquid to it: his hair was plastered down with water.• [ with obj. and adverbial ] display widely and conspicuously: her story was plastered all over the December issue.2 apply a plaster cast or medical plaster to (a part of the body).3 informal, dated bomb or shell (a target) heavily.
DERIVATIVES
plastery adjective
ORIGIN Old English, denoting a bandage spread with a curative substance, frommedieval Latin plastrum (shortening ofLatin emplastrum, from Greek emplastron‘daub, salve’), later reinforced by the Old French noun plastre. Sense 1 dates from late Middle English.

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