intaglio

American  

[in-tal-yoh, -tahl-, een-tah-lyaw] / ɪnˈtæl yoʊ, -ˈtɑl-, inˈtɑ lyɔ /

noun

intaglios, plural intagli plural

1. incised carving, as opposed to carving in relief.

2. ornamentation with a figure or design sunk below the surface.

3. a gem, seal, piece of jewelry, or the like, cut with an incised or sunken design.

4. an incised or countersunk die.

5. a figure or design so produced.

6. a process in which a design, text, etc., is engraved into the surface of a plate so that when ink is applied and the excess is wiped off, ink remains in the grooves and is transferred to paper in printing, as in engraving or etching.

7. an impression or printing from such a design, engraving, etc.

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verb (used with object)

1. to incise or display in intaglio.

intaglio British  

/ ɪnˈtɑːlɪˌəʊ, ɪnˈtɑːlɪˌeɪtɪd /

noun

1. a seal, gem, etc, ornamented with a sunken or incised design, as opposed to a design in relief Compare cameo

2. the art or process of incised carving

3. a design, figure, or ornamentation carved, engraved, or etched into the surface of the material used

4. any of various printing techniques using an etched or engraved plate. The whole plate is smeared with ink, the surface wiped clean, and the ink in the recesses then transferred to the paper or other material

5. an incised die used to make a design in relief

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intagliated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• intaglios
  plural
• intagli
  plural

Etymology

Origin of intaglio

1635–45; < Italian, derivative of intagliare to cut in, engrave, equivalent to in- in- ² + tagliare to cut < Late Latin tāliāre, derivative of Latin tālea a cutting; see tally

Explanation

Intaglio is a kind of printmaking in which a carved design is coated with ink and wiped with a cloth; the resulting print comes from ink in the carved grooves. In intaglio, the shape that ends up printed on paper, cloth, or some other surface is carved out of a metal plate. The plate is either engraved by hand or burned with acid, using a technique called "etching." You can also use the word intaglio to describe a type of sculpture or jewelry making in which designs are etched or engraved. In Italian, intaglio means "engraved work," from intagliare, "to cut in."

Example Sentences

Intaglio designs.—The æsthetic tendencies of these potters are well shown by their essays in engraving.

From Ancient Pottery of the Mississippi Valley Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1882-83, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1886, pages 361-436 by Holmes, William Henry

With 18 Intaglio Plates and 24 Illustrations in the Text.

From A Woman's Part in a Revolution by Hammond, Natalie Harris

Intaglio and relief work evinces much greater skill—the incised forms especially giving evidence of long experience.

From Ancient Pottery of the Mississippi Valley Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1882-83, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1886, pages 361-436 by Holmes, William Henry

Intaglio, in-tal′yō, n. a figure cut into any substance: a stone or gem in which the design is hollowed out, the opposite of a cameo.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

Intaglio, name given to a gem with a design incised in the surface.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin

Related Words

• chisel
• embed
• etch
• imprint
• ingrain
• inscribe