plastic English · revision 4667

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1632|origins=grc πλαστικός}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈplæs.tɪk/, /ˈplɑː.stɪk/, US /ˈplæs.tɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|plasticus]], perhaps through French plastique,^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) from [[grc|πλαστικός|tr=plastikós|t=fit for moulding; of moulding]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from plastós “moulded, formed”, from plássein “to mould, form”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[plaster]], [[plasma]] and [[-plasty]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Characterized by moulding or giving form to matter: 1632 in the OED and Barnhart, in Ben Jonson's The Magnetick Lady,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) the 1630s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) MWU gives 1624.^(MWU 2024) The noun, the art of modelling figures, is from 1598.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Causing the growth of natural forms is from 1646,^(OED 1989) and capable of being moulded, or of taking a new form, from 1711 in Barnhart and 1791 in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The surgical sense, repairing structure, is from 1837–1839, as in ''plastic surgery''.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988) The noun, a solid substance that can be moulded, is from 1905, first of dental moulds,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the main modern sense, a synthetic material, from 1909, when Leo Baekeland used it of Bakelite.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988) Made of plastic is also from 1909,^(Etymonline) and counterculture slang gave it the sense “false, superficial” (1963).^(Etymonline) ''Plastic explosive'' is from 1894,^(Etymonline) and ''plastic'' for credit cards is a later sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1598 – noun, the art of modelling.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1632 – moulding, giving form.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1711 – easily moulded.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1839 – ''plastic surgery''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1894 – ''plastic explosive''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1905 – noun, a mouldable substance.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1909 – a synthetic material.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1963 – false, superficial.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A light, strong synthetic material made from [[polymer]]s that can be shaped when soft.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' [[credit card|alt=Credit cards]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made of plastic.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Easily shaped or moulded.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Relating to moulding or modelling, as in sculpture: ''the plastic arts''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' False or artificial.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[plastically]]

+ * [[plasticky]]

+ * [[bioplastic]]

+ * [[antiplastic]]

+ * [[ceroplastic]]

+ * [[euplastic]]

+ * [[fluoroplastic]]

+ * [[neoplastic]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[plaster]]

+ * [[plasma]]

+ * [[plasticity]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}