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engrave

[en-greyv]
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verb (used with object), en·graved, en·grav·ing.
  1. to chase (letters, designs, etc.) on a hard surface, as of metal, stone, or the end grain of wood: She had the jeweler engrave her name on the back of the watch.
  2. to print from such a surface.
  3. to mark or ornament with incised letters, designs, etc.: He engraved the ring in a floral pattern.
  4. to impress deeply; infix: That image is engraved on my mind.
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Origin of engrave

1500–10; < Middle French engraver; see en-1, grave3
Related formsen·grav·a·ble, adjectiveen·grav·er, nounre·en·grave, verb (used with object), re·en·graved, re·en·grav·ing.su·per·en·grave, verb (used with object), su·per·en·graved, su·per·en·grav·ing.un·der·en·grav·er, nounun·en·graved, adjectivewell-en·graved, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

ingrainchiselinscribeimprintetchembedstipplecutscratchfixburnimpresslodgeornamentinitialinstillhatchprintinfixbite

Examples from the Web for engrave

Historical Examples

  • To engrave is, in final strictness, "to decorate a surface with furrows."

    Ariadne Florentina

    John Ruskin

  • See if you can engrave or carve an ornament on some weapon you have made.

    The Later Cave-Men

    Katharine Elizabeth Dopp

  • Find soft wood or stone and see if you can engrave some animal on it.

    The Later Cave-Men

    Katharine Elizabeth Dopp

  • I had them to repair, polish and engrave, and now they are gone from my boat.

  • Bartsch, Adam, of opinion that Albert Durer did not engrave on wood, 237.

British Dictionary definitions for engrave

engrave

verb (tr)
  1. to inscribe (a design, writing, etc) onto (a block, plate, or other surface used for printing) by carving, etching with acid, or other process
  2. to print (designs or characters) from a printing plate so made
  3. to fix deeply or permanently in the mind
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Derived Formsengraver, noun

Word Origin

C16: from en- 1 + grave ³, on the model of French engraver
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 engrave

v.

late 15c. (implied in ingraved), from en- (1) + obsolete verb grave "carve" (see grave (v.)). Related: Engraved; engraving.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper