aquatint

[ak-wuh-tint, ah-kwuh-]

noun

a process imitating the broad flat tints of ink or wash drawings by etching a microscopic crackle on the copperplate intended for printing.
an etching made by this process.

verb (used with or without object)

to etch in aquatint.

Origin of aquatint

1775–85; variant of aqua-tinta < Italian acqua tinta literally, tinted water. See aqua, tint

Related formsaq·ua·tint·er, aq·ua·tint·ist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for aquatint

Historical Examples of aquatint

Of these methods only aquatint survived after early years of the 19th century.
John Baptist Jackson
Jacob Kainen
The terms were, that Turner was to etch and Lewis to aquatint at five guineas a plate.
Turner
William Cosmo Monkhouse
The plate has a wash of aquatint, all over it, and the etching is free and bold.
Rowlandson the Caricaturist. First Volume
Joseph Grego
Aquatint, a method of etching on copper by which a beautiful effect is produced, resembling a fine drawing in sepia or Indian ink.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2
Various
In these etching merely provides the ground plan for the use of mezzotint, or, more rarely, aquatint.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia
Various

British Dictionary definitions for aquatint

aquatint

noun

a technique of etching copper with acid to produce an effect resembling the flat tones of wash or watercolour. The tone or tint is obtained by acid (aqua) biting through the pores of a ground that only partially protects the copper
an etching made in this way

verb

(tr) to etch (a block, etc) in aquatint

Word Origin for aquatint

C18: from Italian acqua tinta: dyed water

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for aquatint

1782, "engraving made with aqua fortis," from Italian acquatinta, from Latin aqua tincta "dyed water;" see aqua- + tinct.