jewel casket
A small jewel casket sits open on the velvet-lined drawer of a dressing table.
Noun: A jewel casket is a small, often elaborately decorated box specifically designed for storing and protecting jewelry or other small, valuable items.
This term refers specifically to the container itself. It is a formal or descriptive term for a box used to hold precious objects. - The queen kept her diamond necklace in a beautiful jewel casket. - The antique jewel casket was inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
- Historical/Archaic Context: The term "casket" in this compound is somewhat archaic in modern English for this meaning, with "jewelry box" being more common. "Jewel casket" often implies an antique, ornate, or particularly fine example.
- Figurative Use: Rarely, it can be used figuratively to describe something that contains or holds things of great beauty or value.
- The library was a jewel casket of ancient manuscripts.
- Jewelry box (n): A more common modern synonym for a box used to store jewelry.
- Casket (n): In modern American English, primarily means a coffin. Its use to mean a small box for valuables is now rare outside of the fixed compound "jewel casket" or in historical contexts.
- Strongbox (n): A sturdy box for storing valuables, but typically larger and more secure than a jewel casket.
- Coffer (n): A large, strong box or chest for holding valuables.
- Jewel case
- Jewel box
- Jewel chest
This is a compound noun where the primary meaning is carried by the combination of the two words. The individual words provide the core meaning: - Jewel: indicates the typical contents (valuables, gems, jewelry). - Casket: indicates the form (a small box or chest).
It does not refer to a coffin (a modern meaning of "casket") that contains jewels.
A small jewel casket sits open on the velvet-lined drawer of a dressing table.
- small and often ornate box for holding jewels or other valuables