bokeh

[ boh-kuh, boh-key ]

noun

1. the blurry quality in the out-of-focus parts of a photograph, regarded as an aesthetic effect rendered by a particular lens or its digital simulation:

   This lens creates beautifully sharp images with delightful bokeh that glows and diffuses into the background.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bokeh¹

First recorded in 1995–2000; from Japanese boke “fuzziness, blurring,” shortening of pinboke “state of being out of focus”