plastic

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A light artificial material that can be shaped, used to make many everyday objects.

   The toy is made of cheap plastic.

2. 2
   adj

   Made of plastic.

   She drank from a plastic cup.

3. 3
   adj

   Soft enough to be bent or shaped easily.

   Plastic substances such as wax or clay are perfect for sculpting.

4. 4
   noun

   Credit or debit cards used instead of cash.

   Do you take plastic?

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Plastic comes from Greek plastikos, meaning “able to be moulded into different shapes,” from plassein, “to mould.” It entered English in the 17th century with a similar meaning. Its main modern sense refers to synthetic compounds developed in the early 20th century and was first recorded in print in 1909 by Leo Baekeland, the inventor of Bakelite.

From Latin plasticus (“of molding”), from Ancient Greek πλαστικός (plastikós), from πλάσσω (plássō, “to mold, form”). Doublet of plastique.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary