Ceramics

(used with a singular verb) the art or technology of making objects of clay and similar materials treated by firing.
(used with a plural verb) articles of earthenware, porcelain, etc.
of or relating to products made from clay and similar materials, as pottery and brick, or to their manufacture:
ceramic art.
ceramic material.
Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

noun
(functioning as sing) the art and techniques of producing articles of clay, porcelain, etc
noun
a hard brittle material made by firing clay and similar substances
an object made from such a material
adjective
of, relating to, or made from a ceramic: this vase is ceramic
of or relating to ceramics: ceramic arts and crafts
adj.

1850, keramic, from Greek keramikos, from keramos “potter’s clay, pottery, tiles,” perhaps from a pre-Hellenic word. Watkins suggests possible connection with Latin cremare “to burn,” but Klein’s sources are firmly against this. Spelling influenced by French céramique (1806). Related: ceramist (1855). Ceramics is attested from 1857.
ceramic
(sə-rām’ĭk)
Any of various hard, brittle, heat- and corrosion-resistant materials made typically of metallic elements combined with oxygen or with carbon, nitrogen, or sulfur. Most ceramics are crystalline and are poor conductors of electricity, though some recently discovered copper-oxide ceramics are superconductors at low temperatures.