emboss

[em-baws, -bos]

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for embossment

Historical Examples of embossment

The mold will then receive the embossment in reverse and all the tiles made from this mold will be alike.
The Potter's Craft
Charles F. Binns
But on every one of them, in the centre or some other part of the embossment, appeared this image of the sun.
The Virgin of the Sun
H. R. Haggard

British Dictionary definitions for embossment

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 embossment

emboss

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.