gouache

[gwahsh, goo-ahsh; French gwash]

noun, plural gouach·es [gwah-shiz, goo-ah-shiz; French gwash] /ˈgwɑ ʃɪz, guˈɑ ʃɪz; French ˈgwaʃ/ for 3.

a technique of painting with opaque watercolors prepared with gum.

an opaque color used in painting a gouache.

a work painted using gouache.

Nearby words

Origin of gouache

1880–85; < French < Italian guazzo place where there is water ≪ Latin aquātiō, derivative of aqua water

Can be confusedgauche gouache

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gouache

Gouache's wife, Donna Faustina, had entered into her husband's plans with all her heart.
Pietro Ghisleri|F. (Francis) Marion Crawford
"And yet you admit that the portrait is like you," said Gouache.
Don Orsino|F. Marion Crawford
Gouache did not answer, for at that moment the lady's footfall was heard upon the marble floor, soft, quick and decided.
Don Orsino|F. Marion Crawford
Gouache smiled, but there was a note of sincerity in the odd statement which did not escape his hearer.
Don Orsino|F. Marion Crawford

The use of gouache should be limited to the hollow parts of incised or punched leather.
The Decoration of Leather|Georges de Rcy

British Dictionary definitions for gouache

gouache

noun

Also called: body colour a painting technique using opaque watercolour paint in which the pigments are bound with glue and the lighter tones contain white

the paint used in this technique

a painting done by this method

Word Origin for gouache

C19: from French, from Italian guazzo puddle, from Latin aquātiō a watering place, from aqua water

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 gouache

gouache

1882, from French gouache, from Italian guazzo "water color," originally "spray, pool," from Latin aquatio "watering, watering place," from aquatus, past participle of aquari "to bring water for drinking," from aqua (see aqua-).