Daily AncestorLapidary
A lapidary cut, ground and polished gemstones and other hard stones into jewels, cameos and ornaments.
The word comes from Latin lapis, stone. A lapidary shaped hard stones by cutting, grinding and polishing, whether faceting gems, rounding smooth cabochons or engraving cameos.
In older usage the title could also mean a dealer in precious stones or an expert on them, so a lapidary in a city directory may have sold gems rather than cut them. Read the rest of the entry, such as a shop address, for clues.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1850 to 1880 census
Louis Aubert, 45, Lapidary, France
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Lapidary." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/lapidary. Last checked 2026-10-10.