Plaster

By /
ALL0-9ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
« Back to Terms Index
  • Title: Plaster
  • Summary: Clay plaster is a mixture of clay, sand, and water, often with the addition of plant fibers for tensile strength over wood lath.

Citations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaster

[glossary_wikipedia]
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
plaster (noun)
1.
a medicated or protective dressing that consists of a film (as of cloth or ) spread with a usually medicated substance - plastic adhesive plaster , broadly something applied to heal and soothe
2.
a pasty composition (as of lime, water, and sand) that hardens on drying and is used for coating walls, ceilings, and partitions
plaster (verb)
transitive verb
1.
to overlay or cover with plaster - coat
2.
to apply a plaster to
3.
a) to cover over or conceal as if with a coat of plaster
b) to apply as a coating or incrustation
c) to smooth down with a sticky or shiny substance - plastered his hair down
4.
to fasten or apply tightly to another surface
5.
to treat with plaster of paris
6.
to affix to or place on especially conspicuously or in quantity
7.
intransitive verb
to inflict heavy damage or loss on especially by a concentrated or unremitting attack to apply plaster
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
plaster (noun)
a medicated covering used to heal an injury
SYNONYMS:
cataplasm, plaster, poultice
RELATED WORDS:
balm, cream, embrocation, liniment, lotion, ointment, salve, unguent
Plaster (Wikipedia)
This article is about the type of building material and "plaster of Paris". For other uses, see Plaster (disambiguation).

Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "render" commonly refers to external applications. The term stucco refers to plasterwork that is worked in some way to produce relief decoration, rather than flat surfaces.

Stucco plaster reliefs, such as this work at the Château de Fontainebleau, were hugely influential in Northern Mannerism. A plaster low-relief decorative frieze is above it.

The most common types of plaster mainly contain either gypsum, lime, or cement, but all work in a similar way. The plaster is manufactured as a dry powder and is mixed with water to form a stiff but workable paste immediately before it is applied to the surface. The reaction with water liberates heat through crystallization and the hydrated plaster then hardens.

Plaster can be relatively easily worked with metal tools and sandpaper and can be moulded, either on site or in advance, and worked pieces can be put in place with adhesive. Plaster is suitable for finishing rather than load-bearing, and when thickly applied for decoration may require a hidden supporting framework.

Forms of plaster have several other uses. In medicine, plaster orthopedic casts are still often used for supporting set broken bones. In dentistry, plaster is used to make dental models by pouring the material into dental impressions. Various types of models and moulds are made with plaster. In art, lime plaster is the traditional matrix for fresco painting; the pigments are applied to a thin wet top layer of plaster and fuse with it so that the painting is actually in coloured plaster. In the ancient world, as well as the sort of ornamental designs in plaster relief that are still used, plaster was also widely used to create large figurative reliefs for walls, though few of these have survived.

Plaster (Wiktionary)

English

Alternative forms

  • plaister (obsolete outside dialects)
  • plastre (obsolete)

Etymology

Old English plaster, from late Latin plastrum, shortened from Classical Latin emplastrum (“a plaster, bandage”); later reinforced by Anglo-Norman plastre.

« Back to Terms Index
Scroll to Top