Noun

Singular marble

Plural marbles

marble (plural marbles)

1. (uncountable) A rock of crystalline limestone.

   Open thy marble jaws, O tomb / And hide me, earth, in thy dark womb.—George Frederic Handel, Jeptha

2. (countable) A small spherical ball of rock or glass used in children's games.

Derived terms

• lose one's marbles

Verb

Infinitive to marble

Third person singular marbles

Simple past marbled

Past participle marbled

Present participle marbling

to marble (third-person singular simple present marbles, present participle marbling, simple past and past participle marbled)

1. (transitive) To give the appearance of the streaks and swirls of types of certain marble, as by incomplete mixing of viscous ingredients or by uneven application of paint or other colorant.
2. (intransitive, beef) To be interlaced with fat.

Synonyms

• marbleize
• marbelize

Derived terms

• marble beef
• marble cake

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. It is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material.

Origins

Marble is a rock resulting from metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks, (most commonly limestone or dolomite rock). Metamorphism causes variable recrystallization of the original carbonate mineral grains. The resulting marble rock is typically composed of an interlocking mosaic of carbonate crystals. Primary sedimentary textures and structures of the original carbonate rock (protolith) have typically been modified or destroyed.

Pure white marble is the result of metamorphism of a very pure (silicate-poor) limestone or dolomite protolith. The characteristic swirls and veins of many colored marble varieties are usually due to various mineral impurities such as clay, silt, sand, iron oxides, or chert which were originally present as grains or layers in the limestone. Green coloration is often due to serpentine resulting from originally high magnesium limestone or dolostone with silica impurities. These various impurities have been mobilized and recrystallized by the intense pressure and heat of the metamorphism.