English

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Etymology

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From ceruse +‎ -ed.

Adjective

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cerused (not comparable)

  1. Washed with a preparation of white lead as a cosmetic treatment.
    • 1623 January 5 (first performance), John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, “The Spanish Curat”, in Comedies and Tragedies [], London: [] Humphrey Robinson, [], and for Humphrey Moseley [], published 1647, →OCLC, Act V, scene i:
      My wants have not transformed me: I dare tell you, / To your new-cerused face
    • 1858, Truman Slater, A New Compendium of Ancient History, Geography, and Chronology, page 178:
      Because I though myself more deserving of such a dignity, being more like a man, and able to render more service to the king than you who are so cerused, shaved, and painted about the eyes, face, and skin.
    • 1911, Martial, ‎Paul Nixon (translator), A Roman Wit: Epigrams of Martial Rendered Into English by Paul Nixon, page 74:
      "Your cerused lips and bandaged chin seem well ; Pray what's amiss? " Philænis, if I've got to tell—I dread your kiss.
    • 2011, Emery Lee, Fortune's Son:
      He surveyed the chamber filled with vibrant silks and the white powdered wigs adorning old beaux and grande dames, cerused and patched in the prevailing fashion.
  2. (of wood) Finished with a whitening pigment that fills the grain, originally white lead, but in more recent times using less toxic pigments.
    • 2001 July, Los Angeles Magazine, volume 46, number 7, page 127:
      Traverse the lobby's inlaid marble floor and cream Venetian-plastered walls and ascend one level to the reception area, lounge and bar boasting cerused dark wood floors, 15-foot-high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows facing Thompson Street.
    • 2017, Steven M. Price, Trousdale Estates:
      Furnishings of teak and cerused oak inside and out compliment bona fide classics such as the Barcelona chairs in the living room and Eames lounge in the master bedroom .
    • 2019, Anthony Iannacci, New York Design at Home, page 80:
      Flynn's design for the kitchen incorporates a combination of cerused teak cabinetry, bronzed steel, and basaltina volcanic stone counters. By using the same cerused-teak in the bedroom for a wall of storage, Flynn created a sense of continuity he hoped would both render the space more modern and increase the perception of continuous space.

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