celadon

American  

[sel-uh-don, -dn] / ˈsɛl əˌdɒn, -dn /

noun

1. any of several Chinese porcelains having a translucent, pale green glaze.

2. any porcelain imitating these.

3. a pale gray-green.

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adjective

1. having the color celadon.

celadon British  

/ ˈsɛləˌdɒn /

noun

1. a type of porcelain having a greyish-green glaze: mainly Chinese

2. a pale greyish-green colour, sometimes somewhat yellow

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Etymology

Origin of celadon

First recorded in 1760–70; named after Céladon, name of a character in L' Astrée, a tale by Honoré d'Urfé (1568–1625), French writer

Explanation

Celadon is a soft, grayish green color. It's also the name of a kind of pottery that has a celadon-colored glaze. The word celadon was coined to describe the pale jade glaze, which is often deliberately scattered with fine cracks. It comes from a character in a 17th-century French romantic novel, a shepherd and sentimental hero named Céladon who is described as wearing green clothing. Celadon pottery is still popular today, and so is the color; you can find clothing, wall paint, and nail polish in celadon.

Example Sentences

At Pearl Lam, the delicate craquelure of the monochrome panels by Su Xiaobai connects them to historic painting and celadon pottery.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

Behind him, a young servant arrives with a snack, while books and a celadon vase have been laid out for study on a nearby table.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2023

Over time, Korean artisans learned from China how to make celadon ceramic, known for its lustrous green glaze, creating exquisite vases, jugs, bowls, and even pillows with Buddhist motifs such as cranes and clouds.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

It includes the clean white and celadon green finishes you’d expect, along with plenty of gourd-shaped ewers and stocky jars.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2023

So the diggers avoided the areas where the clay was striped dirty white or rusty red, as clay of these colors did not make the transformation to celadon green when fired.

From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park