lapidary

lapidary
    adj 1: of or relating to precious stones or the art of working
           with them; "the ring is of no lapidary value"- Lord
           Byron; "lapidary art"
    n 1: an expert on precious stones and the art of cutting and
         engraving them [syn: {lapidary}, {lapidarist}]
    2: a skilled worker who cuts and engraves precious stones [syn:
       {lapidary}, {lapidist}]
    

Lapidary \Lap"i*da*ry\, a. [L. lapidarius pertaining to stone:
   cf. F. lapidaire.]
   1. Of or pertaining to the art of cutting stones, or
      engraving on stones, either gems or monuments; as,
      lapidary ornamentation.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Of or pertaining to monumental inscriptions; as, lapidary
      adulation.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Lapidary style}, that style which is proper for monumental
      and other inscriptions; terse; sententious.
      [1913 Webster]
    

Lapidary \Lap"i*da*ry\, n.; pl. {Lapidaries}. [L. lapidarius,
   fr. lapidarius pertaining to stone: cf. F. lapidaire.]
   1. An artificer who cuts, polishes, and engraves precious
      stones; hence, a dealer in precious stones.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A virtuoso skilled in gems or precious stones; a
      connoisseur of lapidary work.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Lapidary's lathe}, {Lapidary's mill}, {Lapidary's wheel}, a
      machine consisting essentially of a revolving lap on a
      vertical spindle, used by a lapidary for grinding and
      polishing.
      [1913 Webster]
    

27 Moby Thesaurus words for "lapidary":
      aquatint, aquatinta, autolithographic, burinist, carver,
      cerographer, chalcographer, engraver, etcher, gem engraver,
      glyptic, glyptographic, graphic artist, graver, inscriber,
      line engraver, lithographer, lithographic, mezzotint, printmaker,
      pyrographer, serigrapher, silk-screen artist, wood engraver,
      wood-block, xylographic, xylopyrographer