- Clay - a natural material that is plastic when wet, consisting essentially of hydrated silicates of aluminum. Al2O3·2SiO2·2H2O
- Slip - clay mixed with water to become a thick, smooth liquid.
- Score - to indent a rough texture into clay, usually by crisscrossing lines. Used to join clay together.
- Pinch - a method of clay forming using a ball of clay and applying pressure with your thumb and index fingers.
- Coiling - a method of clay forming using slender tubes of clay by putting one on top of another and pressing them together.
- Slab - clay that has been flattened by rolling or throwing .
- Underglaze - colored clay that is applied to greenware
- Glaze - an impervious layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fused to a ceramic body through firing. Can serve to color, decorate or waterproof an item. Glaze is applied to bisque ware (can be thought of as glass-forming compounds in a liquid suspension).
- Wedging - a procedure for removing air from a clay body by hand: the lump of clay is repeatedly pressed down on a work bench; between each operation the lump is turned.
- Bisque - Pottery that has been fired but not yet glazed.
NEW:
- Engobe - a slip coating applied to a ceramic body for imparting colour, opacity or other characteristics.
- Bone dry - the final stage of greenware dried to a completely dry state and ready to be fired. In this stage, the clay is very fragile, non-plastic and porous.
- Kiln - a furnace for the firing of ceramics.
- Quartz inversion - an expansion that occurs during firing at 573°C (1063F).
- Sgraffito - a decorating technique where a slip is applied to clay and then scratched away revealing the contrasting color underneath.