English
Etymology
From L. term|plasticus||of molding|langla, from Gk. term|�λα��ικ��|trplastikos|langel, from term|�λά��ειν|trplassein||to mold, form|lang=el.
The common sense of plastic as a material was derived by shortening the term thermoplastic, a term used to describe that subset of common plastics that soften when heated. (The other major subset of plastics is the thermosetting plastics, Bakelite being the best known example.
Pronunciation
:Rhymes: Rhymes:English:-æstɪk|-æstɪk
Noun
en-noun|-
- A stiff but usually slightly flexible synthetic material, generally consisting of a hydrocarbon-based polymer.
- Any similar synthetic material.
- slang credit card|credit or debit cards used in place of cash to buy goods and services.
Translations
trans-top|a stiff but usually slightly flexible synthetic material
Chinese: t|cmn|��|scHani|xsMandarin (sùlià o)
Croatian: t-|hr|plastika|f
Dutch: t+|nl|plastic, t|nl|plastiek|n, t+|nl|kunststof|c
Finnish: t+|fi|muovi
French: t+|fr|plastique|f
Galician: t-|gl|plástico|xs=Galician m
German: t+|de|Plastik|n, t|de|Kunststoff f
Greek: t|el|�λα��ικ�|sc=Grek n
Icelandic: t-|is|plast|n
trans-mid
Italian: t+|it|plastica|f
Japanese: t-|ja|������|sc=Jpan (purasuchikku)
Korean: t-|ko|����|sc=Hang (peullaseutik)
Portuguese: t-|pt|plástico m
Russian: t|ru|пла��ма��а|sc=Cyrl (plastmássa) f
Spanish: t-|es|plástico m
trans-bottom
trans-top|any similar synthetic material
Croatian: t-|hr|plastika|f
Czech: um�lá hmota f, plast m
Dutch: t+|nl|plastic, t+|nl|kunststof|c
Finnish: t+|fi|muovi
Galician: t-|gl|plástico|xs=Galician m
trans-mid
German: t+|de|Plastik|n
Portuguese: t-|pt|plástico m
Spanish: t-|es|plástico m
trans-bottom
trans-top|credit cards or debit cards
Finnish: muovi italbrac|slang, maksukortti, luottokortti
German: t+|de|Plastikgeld|n
trans-mid
Icelandic: t-|is|plast|n
trans-bottom
Adjective
en-adj-more
- Of or pertaining to the inelastic, non-brittle, deformation of a material.
- Capable of adapting to varying conditions: ecologically plastic animals,see Charles Darwin: Origin of Species.
- Constructed of plastic.
- Inferior or not the real thing; ersatz italbrac|especially when made of plastic instead of an alterate material.
Antonyms
elastic
Related terms
plasticity
Translations
trans-top|Of or pertaining to the inelastic, non-brittle, deformation of a material
Dutch: plastisch
Finnish: t-|fi|muovinen
German: plastisch
trans-mid
trans-bottom
trans-top|Capable of adapting to varying conditions
Finnish: plastinen, mukautuva
German: plastisch
trans-mid
Spanish: t-|es|maleable
trans-bottom
trans-top|Constructed of plastic
Dutch: t+|nl|plastic
Finnish: t-|fi|muovinen
French: t+|fr|plastique
German: Plastik- italbrac|in compound words
trans-mid
Spanish: t-|es|de plástico
trans-bottom
zh-min-nan:plastic
fa:plastic
fr:plastic
hy:plastic
io:plastic
id:plastic
it:plastic
hu:plastic
nl:plastic
pl:plastic
ru:plastic
sr:plastic
fi:plastic
sv:plastic
ta:plastic
te:plastic
vi:plastic
tr:plastic
zh:plastic
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