gypsum English · revision 1893

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɪp.səm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|gypsum]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|γύψος|tr=gýpsos|t=chalk, gypsum]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) probably of Semitic origin;^(AHD)^(Etymonline) compare Arabic ''jibs'' and Hebrew ''gephes'' “plaster”.^(Etymonline) The Middle English forms were ''gypsus'' and ''gipsum''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Hydrated calcium sulphate, the mineral from which [[plaster of Paris]] is made (1387 in the OED, before 1384 in Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The meaning has stayed the same.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb, to dress land with gypsum as a fertilizer, is recorded from 1819.^(OED 1989) Merriam-Webster also gives the sense of [[drywall]].^(MW Collegiate) Random House dates the word only from 1640–50.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1384 – ''gypsus'' (Barnhart).^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1387 – the mineral (OED).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1819 – verb, to dress land with gypsum.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A common soft white or colorless [[mineral]], hydrated calcium sulfate, used to make [[plaster of Paris]] and as a [[fertilizer]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[Drywall]] or plasterboard.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gypseous]]

+ * [[gypsiferous]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gypsophila]]

+ * [[gyp]]

+ * [[plaster of Paris]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}