Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Plaster?

\Plas"ter\, n. [AS., a plaster (in sense 1), fr. L. emplastrum, Gr. ?, ?, fr. ? to daub on, stuff in; ? in + ? to mold: cf. OF. plastre a plaster (in sense 2), F. pl[^a]tre. Cf. {Plastic}, {Emplaster}, {Piaster}.] [Formerly written also {plaister}.] 1. (Med.) An external application of a consistency harder than ointment, prepared for use by spreading it on linen, leather, silk, or other material. It is adhesive at the ordinary temperature of the body, and is used, according to its composition, to produce a medicinal effect, to bind parts together, etc.; as, a porous plaster; sticking plaster. 2. A composition of lime, water, and sand, with or without hair as a bond, for coating walls, ceilings, and partitions of houses. See {Mortar}. 3. Calcined gypsum, or plaster of Paris, especially when ground, as used for making ornaments, figures, moldings, etc.; or calcined gypsum used as a fertilizer. {Plaster cast}, a copy of an object obtained by pouring plaster of Paris mixed with water into a mold. {Plaster of Paris}. [So called because originally brought from a suburb of Paris.] (Chem.) Anhydrous calcium sulphate, or calcined gypsum, which forms with water a paste which soon sets or hardens, and is used for casts, moldings, etc. The term is loosely applied to any plaster stone or species of gypsum. {Plaster of Paris bandage} (Surg.), a bandage saturated with a paste of plaster of Paris, which on drying forms a perfectly fitting splint. {Plaster stone}, any species of gypsum. See {Gypsum}.
\Plas"ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Plastered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Plastering}.] [Cf. OF. plastrer to plaster (in sense 2), F. pl[^a]trer.] 1. To cover with a plaster, as a wound or sore. 2. To overlay or cover with plaster, as the ceilings and walls of a house. 3. Fig.: To smooth over; to cover or conceal the defects of; to hide, as with a covering of plaster. --Bale.