marmoreal
Carved like a gargoyle visage in the side of the wall, massive, marmoreal, except that a great rumbling low breath escaped from between its lips[....]
--On, by Adam Roberts, p. 225 of the 2002 Gollancz paperback edition
MW11 says "marmoreal" means (paraphrasing) "like a marble statue."
It's possible I've seen this word before; it looks vaguely familiar. But I certainly had no idea what it meant, even from context. If I'd had to guess, I'd have guessed it meant "marmot-like." :)
Comments
This one comes up fairly often. It's often used for textures.
Posted by: Fred | January 30, 2006 2:38 AM
For some reason, I associate the word with dense, ancient forests. Not 'arboreal'. What word am I thinking of?
Posted by: John Schoffstall | January 31, 2006 9:12 PM