What does lazuli mean?
Lazuli is an uncommon noun referring to lapis lazuli, a deep-blue mineral valued for its intense colour. In medieval and Renaissance Europe, the mineral was ground and purified to make a brilliant blue pigment used in illuminated manuscripts, painted panel, and richly decorated objects. Because the pigment was costly, surfaces decorated with it could visibly signal wealth, prestige, and religious or courtly importance. The stone itself was also carved, polished, and incorporated into mosaics, often alongside gold. Although lapis lazuli remains the usual modern name, lazuli survives in historical writing and in descriptions of the mineral and its pigment. It can also appear in phrases such as “lazuli pigment” and “lazuli mosaic.” The word is chiefly historical and specialised rather than part of everyday modern English.
nounA blue mineral, especially lapis lazuli, formerly valued as a source of vivid blue pigment and as an ornamental stone.
- The blue mineral known as lapis lazuli, particularly when used as a source of pigment or as an ornamental stone.
"The medieval manuscript was illuminated with pigment made from finely ground lazuli."
"The artist mixed ground lazuli with oil to produce an intense blue."
"Fragments of lazuli and gold leaf still glitter across the Byzantine mosaic."
The plural is grammatically possible but rare in modern use.
"Collectors displayed mounted pieces of lapis lazuli and other polished lazulis."
Once worth more than gold, the brilliant blue stone in lapis lazuli was ground into one of history’s most prized pigments.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does lazuli come from?
The English word comes through Medieval Latin from a New Latin form based ultimately on Persian lāzvard, a name associated with lapis lazuli. The same Persian source also lies behind English azure through French and Latin adaptations. The compound lapis lazuli combines Latin lapis, “stone,” with lazuli, while the shorter English form became established in technical and historical descriptions of the mineral and its pigment.
How lazuli is actually used
The word is now uncommon as a standalone noun and is encountered most often in the established name “lapis lazuli.” Historically, it could refer both to the mineral and to a vivid blue pigment made from it.
Easily confused with lazuli
Lazuli may refer to the blue mineral or its pigment, while lapis lazuli more commonly names the mineral and the traditional compound from which the shorter form derives.
Azure can describe a blue colour or pigment, whereas lazuli specifically denotes the mineral historically used to produce such a blue pigment.