Plaster

Plaster, plas′tėr, n. something that can be moulded into figures: a composition of lime, water, and sand for overlaying walls, &c.: (med.) a medicinal agent consisting of an adhesive substance spread upon cloth or leather, so as to stick to the part of the body to which it is applied.—adj. made of plaster.—v.t. to cover with plaster: to cover with a plaster, as a wound: to besmear: (fig.) to smooth over.—ns. Plas′terer, one who plasters, or one who works in plaster; Plas′tering, the art of covering the internal faces of walls, the partitions and ceiling of a building, with plaster: a covering of plaster: the plasterwork of a building; Plas′ter-stone, gypsum.—adj. Plas′tery, like plaster, containing plaster.—Plaster cast, a copy of an object got by pouring a mixture of plaster of Paris and water into a mould formed from the object; Plaster of Paris, a kind of gypsum, originally found near Paris, used in building and in making casts of figures; Porous plaster, a plaster for application to the body, full of small holes, which prevent it from wrinkling. [A.S. plaster—O. Fr. emplastre—L. emplastrum—Gr. emplastron.]