Vitrine is a glass showcase or cabinet, often for displaying fine wares or specimens.
Vitrine es una vitrina o gabinete de vidrio, a menudo para exhibir artículos valiosos o especímenes.
| Front | vitrine \vuh-TREEN\ |
|---|---|
| Back | noun A glass showcase or cabinet especially for displaying fine wares or specimens. [The history of "vitrine" is clear as glass. It comes to English by way of the Old French word "vitre," meaning "pane of glass," from Latin "vitrum," meaning "glass." "Vitrum" has contributed a number of words to the English language besides "vitrine." "Vitreous" ("resembling glass" or "relating to, derived from, or consisting of glass") is the most common of these. "Vitrify" ("to convert or become converted into glass or into a glassy substance by heat and fusion") is another. A much rarer "vitrum" word -- and one that also entered English by way of "vitre" -- is "vitrailed," meaning "fitted with stained glass."] "The tiny antiquarian bookshop has some books that are available for browsing, but the rarer and more valuable volumes are housed in the tall vitrines that line the walls." |
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