Plural of alabastrum; multiple alabaster vessels in the Latin or formal scientific terminology for ancient perfume containers.
Latin plural formed by replacing the singular -um ending with -a, though in English usage this sometimes becomes -ums, showing the mixing of Latin and English grammatical rules.
This is an example of how English borrowed not just the Greek word but also its Latinized version, creating linguistic twins that mean almost the same thing but appeal to different levels of formality!
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