Vitreous means 'made of glass' or 'like glass' — clear, hard, shiny, a bit brittle. It is a technical adjective, not a poetic one; you meet it in three fairly fixed places rather than in free everyday use.

Vitreous meansVitreous的意思是 'made of glass' or 'like glass'『玻璃做的』或『像玻璃一樣』——clear, hard, shiny, a bit brittle清澈、堅硬、有光澤、還有點易碎。It is a technical adjective, not a poetic one它是一個技術性的形容詞，不是詩意的用字，you meet it你會遇到它 in three fairly fixed places在三個相當固定的地方，rather than in free everyday use而不是在自由隨意的日常用法裡。

First, materials. 'Vitreous china' and 'vitreous enamel' are the standard names for the glassy coating on toilets, sinks, bathtubs, and old cooking pots — clay or metal fired with a glass layer so it becomes smooth and waterproof. If you have ever read the label on a bathroom fitting in Taiwan, you have seen this word.

First第一， materials材料方面。 the glassy coating on toilets, sinks, bathtubs, and old cooking pots馬桶、水槽、浴缸和舊式鍋具上那層玻璃光澤塗層， 'Vitreous china' and 'vitreous enamel'『Vitreous china』和『vitreous enamel』 are the standard names for是標準說法—— clay or metal fired with a glass layer陶土或金屬燒上一層玻璃 so it becomes smooth and waterproof讓表面變得光滑防水。If you have ever read the label on a bathroom fitting in Taiwan如果你在台灣讀過浴室設備上的標籤， you have seen this word你就看過這個字了。

Second, the eye. The 'vitreous humour' (or just 'the vitreous') is the clear jelly filling the ball of your eye behind the lens. Eye doctors talk about vitreous detachment and the floating specks people see.

Second第二，the eye眼睛方面。The 'vitreous humour'『vitreous humour』，or just 'the vitreous'或者也直接說『the vitreous』，is the clear jelly filling the ball of your eye behind the lens是填滿你眼球、在水晶體後方的透明果凍狀物質。Eye doctors talk about眼科醫生會談到 vitreous detachmentvitreous detachment玻璃體剝離 and the floating specks people see以及人們看到的飄浮小黑點。

Third, geology and rock: a vitreous lustre means a mineral shines the way broken glass does — quartz is the standard example.

Third第三， geology and rock地質學和岩石方面： a vitreous lustrevitreous lustre means a mineral shines the way broken glass does指的是礦物閃耀的方式就像破裂的玻璃一樣—— quartzquartz石英 is the standard example是標準的例子。

Outside these, the everyday word is simply 'glassy'. English keeps 'glassy' for eyes that look blank or dead ('a glassy stare') and 'vitreous' for the technical senses; they are not interchangeable, even though both mean glass-like.

Outside these除了這些場合， the everyday word is simply 'glassy'日常用字就只是『glassy』。English keeps 'glassy'英文把『glassy』留給 for eyes that look blank or dead看起來呆滯或沒有神采的眼睛， ('a glassy stare')就像『a glassy stare』這樣的說法， and 'vitreous' for the technical senses而把『vitreous』留給這些技術性的意思； even though both mean glass-like雖然兩個字都是『像玻璃』的意思， they are not interchangeable兩者不能互換。