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definitions

emboss

[em-baws, -bos]
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verb (used with object)

to raise or represent (surface designs) in relief.
to decorate (a surface) with raised ornament.
Metalworking. to raise a design on (a blank) with dies of similar pattern, one the negative of the other.Compare coin(def 10).
to cause to bulge out; make protuberant.

Origin of emboss

1350–1400; Middle English embosen < Middle French embocer, equivalent to em- em-1 + boce boss2
Related formsem·boss·a·ble, adjectiveem·boss·er, nounem·boss·ment, nounun·em·bossed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for embossing

etch, decorate, adorn, stamp, carve, impress, punch, sculpt

Examples from the Web for embossing

Historical Examples of embossing

  • Vail, as we have seen, also invented the plan of embossing the message.

  • Again, both values are known with the embossing doubly impressed.

    Gambia

    Frederick John Melville

  • The two classes with which I was brought into contact were the book-keeping and embossing.

    Mystic London:

    Charles Maurice Davies

  • Their knowledge of embossing gold and silver was considerable.

    A Manual of the Historical Development of Art

    G. G. (Gustavus George) Zerffi

  • Uninked blocks were used for embossing portions of the designs.

    Chats on Japanese Prints

    Arthur Davison Ficke

British Dictionary definitions for embossing

emboss

verb

to mould or carve (a decoration or design) on (a surface) so that it is raised above the surface in low relief
to cause to bulge; make protrude
Derived Formsembosser, nounembossment, noun

Word Origin for emboss

C14: from Old French embocer, from em- + boce boss ²
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 embossing

emboss

v.

late 14c., from Old French *embocer (cf. embocieure "boss, stud, buckle"), from em- (see en- (1)) + boce "knoblike mass" (see boss (n.2)). Related: Embossed; embossing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper