burin

American  

[byoor-in, bur-] / ˈbyʊər ɪn, ˈbɜr- /

noun

1. a tempered steel rod, with a lozenge-shaped point and a rounded handle, used for engraving furrows in metal.

2. a similar tool used by marble workers.

3. a prehistoric pointed or chisel-like flint tool.

---

burin British  

/ ˈbjʊərɪn /

noun

1. a chisel of tempered steel with a sharp lozenge-shaped point, used for engraving furrows in metal, wood, or marble

2. an engraver's individual style

3. archaeol a prehistoric flint tool with a very small transverse edge

---

Etymology

Origin of burin

First recorded in 1655–65; from French, from Italian burino (now bulino ) “graving tool,” equivalent to bur- (perhaps from Germanic; bore ² ) + -ino -ine ²

Example Sentences

“The main thing is practice,” said Raftery, 61, who picked up a burin, the engraver’s tool, in his third year of art school and was hooked.

From Seattle Times

Engraving is a very difficult technique, in which a metal burin is forced into a wooden or metal plate.

From Salon

The geometric and floral motifs are first drawn as a temporary outline—using powdered chalk or magnesium powder—and then engraved with a burin.

From Forbes

There are etchings on ivory specially selected for its slight variations in colour, indicative of landscape, where the needle-sharp burin has had to be fashioned from rock.

From The Guardian

Another Berlin artist of note is Fräulein Käthe Kollwitz, whose principal field of artistic expression has hitherto been restricted to the burin and copper plate.

From Project Gutenberg