plaster-cast
(ˈplɑːstəˌkɑːst, -æ-)
Also plaster cast, plastercast.
[f. plaster n. + cast n.]
A reproduction in plaster made from a mould. Also attrib. and fig. and as v. trans. Hence plaster-casting vbl. n. and ppl. a.
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 616 A back-ground..of plaster-cast to the ornament or figure. 1842 Knickerbocker XX. 468 The head of Miss Jewett is a portrait, taken from a plaster cast. 1856 Mrs. Stowe Dred I. 18 Bronzes and plaster⁓casts..gave evidence of artistic culture. 1859 Handbk. Turning p. xxvii, The wonderful discovery of voltaic electricity, by which copper plates, plaster casts, wood engravings, and medals may be copied. 1912 D. H. Lawrence Phoenix II (1968) 271 The method of translation, we are told, is the ‘plaster⁓cast’: that is, the outward form is strictly preserved. 1919 ‘W. N. P. Barbellion’ Jrnl. Disappointed Man 163 A plaster-cast mask of Voltaire when first hung up made him chuckle with indecent laughter. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 411 Plastercast reproductions..such as Venus and Apollo. 1959 P. & L. Murray Dict. Art & Artists 248 Plaster Casting is an intermediate stage in the production of a piece of sculpture which is often the last process actually to be carried out by the sculptor himself. 1970 Oxf. Compan. Art 879/2 Plaster casts of limbs..may also be made direct from the human body and then used as models by the stone-carver. Ibid. 880/1 The Vienna Academy..had a plaster-casting workshop of its own and devoted a whole floor of its palatial building to its collection of casts. 1977 ‘M. Yorke’ Cost of Silence xv. 115 Footprints..were very distinct, and a detective was making a plaster cast of one of the sharpest. |
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Add: 2. Med. A casing of plaster of Paris and gauze which provides protection and support for an immobilized limb, etc.; = *plaster n. 3 c.
| 1883 Med. Age I. 367/1 The plaster cast with fenestrated openings opposite the site of the wound is a decided improvement over the movable splint. 1907 R. T. Taylor Orthopaedic Surg. ii. 23 Much has been written and said about the supposed difficult task of cutting off a plaster cast. 1934 Key & Conwell Managem. Fractures, Dislocations & Sprains i. 37 Plaster casts are frequently bivalved for physiotherapy or inspection of a part and are then strapped on. 1960 E. P. Leonard Orthopedic Surg. Dog & Cat iv. 37 Removal of a plaster cast can be simplified by imbedding a Fetatome wire after the first layer of plaster has been applied. 1987 Oxf. Textbk. Med. (ed. 2) I. ix. 89/2 [The patient] should..walk once the affected part is immobilized by a lightweight plaster cast. |