Lapidary prose is so elegant and precise that it’s worthy of being carved into stone. Lapidary comes from Latin lapis, meaning stone, and is related to the brilliant blue stone, lapis lazuli, and the word dilapidated, from a Latin word meaning to destroy — originally, to pelt with stones. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Lapidary Prose”
If you describe somebody’s prose as lapidary, it’s a compliment, right?
Lapidary prose has been used since the 1700s to mean things that have the elegance and precision of inscriptions carved on stone monuments.
Oh, nice. How nice is that?
Yes, and you can hear the Latin word lapis in there, which means stone.
In that word, lapidary.
You also see lapis in lapis lazuli, the beautiful blue stone.
Precious blue stone, yeah.
Yes, yes.
Or lapidary, the term that’s used for gem cutting.
Okay, gotcha.
And the other place that you see that root, which is super cool, is in the word dilapidated.
It comes from a Latin word that means to scatter like stones.
So kind of fall to rubble or fell to rubble.
Yes, exactly.
Okay, very good.
How cool is that?
That’s cool.
Well, you know, if you want the history behind a word, you would be surprised.
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