lapicide means A stonecutter. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
lapicide is pronounced /ˈlæpɪsaɪd/.
Why “lapicide” is a great word
One who cuts or engraves stone. Its lineage is literal: from the Latin lapicīda, from lapis, lapid- ("stone") and -cida ("cutter, killer"), it entered the lexicon in 1656 to name this ancient craft. Unlike a lapidary, who facets gems for adornment, or a mason, who builds with assembled blocks, the lapicide is a subtractive artist, a conjurer of form from brute material. It is the rhythmic chip of the quarryman freeing a slab, the patient tap of the carver coaxing a date onto a cornerstone, and the precise, dust-shrouded tap of the chisel as it follows incised letters on a memorial—the quiet hand that translates raw geology into human record, a testament to the will to leave a mark upon the most resistant of materials.
Etymology
From Latin lapicida. Compare -cide.
noun
- A stonecutter.“Letters omitted by the lapicide or evident mistakes of the lapicide corrected by the editor.”
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