I'm a word-junkie. I LOVE the English language and love to write.
I also enjoy solving riddles.
So, I set out with my dictionaries and my google to resolve this one because I do like to have the truth of things.
I confess, I was sure myself that "sculptured" was not a word.
It turns out that it is (see below).
HOWEVER, my conclusion from the definition is that nail enhancements are NOT "sculptured" and that it is indeed INCORRECT to say so simply because they are not 'chiselled', nor 'engraved'. (except perhaps with an e-file in some instances of nail art).
Gigi was not rude, she was simply plain speaking. She was also quite right with regards to slang terms being included in dictionaries recently. Just because it is found in a dictionary, it does not mean that it is a 'proper' word.
Definition of SCULPTURE (Meaning of SCULPTURE), a 9 Letter Word
Webster's 1913 Dictionary Definition:
- \Sculp"ture\ (?; 135), n. [L. sculptura: cf. F.sculpture.]1. The art of carving, cutting, or hewing wood, stone, metal, etc., into statues, ornaments, etc., or into figures, as of men, or other things; hence, the art of producing figures and groups, whether in plastic or hard materials.2. Carved work modeled of, or cut upon, wood, stone, metal, etc. There, too, in living sculpture, might be seen The mad affection of the Cretan queen. --Dryden.
- \Sculp"ture\ (?; 135), v. t. [imp. & p. p.{Sculptured}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sculpturing}.]To form with the chisel on, in, or from, wood, stone, ormetal; to carve; to engrave.{Sculptured tortoise} (Zo["o]l.), a common North American wood tortoise ({Glyptemys insculpta}). The shell is marked with strong grooving and ridges which resemble sculptured figures.
Webster's 1913 Dictionary Definition:
- \Sculp"ture\ (?; 135), n. [L. sculptura: cf. F.sculpture.]1. The art of carving, cutting, or hewing wood, stone, metal, etc., into statues, ornaments, etc., or into figures, as of men, or other things; hence, the art of producing figures and groups, whether in plastic or hard materials.2. Carved work modeled of, or cut upon, wood, stone, metal, etc. There, too, in living sculpture, might be seen The mad affection of the Cretan queen. --Dryden.
- \Sculp"ture\ (?; 135), v. t. [imp. & p. p.{Sculptured}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sculpturing}.]To form with the chisel on, in, or from, wood, stone, ormetal; to carve; to engrave.{Sculptured tortoise} (Zo["o]l.), a common North American wood tortoise ({Glyptemys insculpta}). The shell is marked with strong grooving and ridges which resemble sculptured figures.