[mar.ble] n [ME, fr. OF marbre, fr. L marmor, fr. Gk marmaros] (12c) 1 a: limestone that is more or less crystallized by metamorphism, that ranges from granular to compact in texture, that is capable of taking a high polish, and that is used esp. in architecture and sculpture b: something (as a piece of sculpture) composed of or made from marble c: something suggesting marble (as in hardness, coldness, or smoothness) "a heart of ~"
2. a: a little ball made of a hard substance (as glass) and used in various games b pl but sing in constr: any of several games played with these little balls
3: marbling
4. pl: elements o f common sense; esp: sanity "persons who are born without all their ~s --Arthur Miller" -- marble adj
[2]marble vt mar.bled ; mar.bling (1683): to give a veined or mottled appearance to "~ the edges of a book"