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decalcomania

[ dih-kal-kuh-mey-nee-uh, -meyn-yuh ]
/ dɪˌkæl kəˈmeɪ ni ə, -ˈmeɪn yə /
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noun
the art or process of transferring pictures or designs from specially prepared paper to wood, metal, glass, etc.
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Origin of decalcomania

1860–65; <French décalcomanie, equivalent to décalc- (representing décalquer to transfer a tracing of, equivalent to dé-de- + calquer to trace) + -o--o- + -manie-mania
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use decalcomania in a sentence

  • "I'd have to go home first and get my decalcomania book," Jimmy stipulated.

    The Believing Years|Edmund Lester Pearson
  • The hat with movement is like a free-hand sketch, a hat without movement like a decalcomania.

    Woman as Decoration|Emily Burbank
  • I remember once decorating a card for Mother with some decalcomania pictures.

    The Story of Porcelain|Sara Ware Bassett

British Dictionary definitions for decalcomania

decalcomania
/ (dɪˌkælkəˈmeɪnɪə) /

noun
the art or process of transferring a design from prepared paper onto another surface, such as china, glass or paper
a design so transferred

Word Origin for decalcomania

C19: from French décalcomanie, from décalquer to transfer by tracing, from dé- de- + calquer to trace + -manie -mania
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
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