intaglio

[ in-tal-yoh, -tahl-; Italian een-tah-lyaw ]
See synonyms for intaglio on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural in·tagl·ios, Italian in·ta·gli [een-tah-lyee]. /inˈtɑ lyi/.
  1. incised carving, as opposed to carving in relief.

  2. ornamentation with a figure or design sunk below the surface.

  1. a gem, seal, piece of jewelry, or the like, cut with an incised or sunken design.

  2. an incised or countersunk die.

  3. a figure or design so produced.

  4. a process in which a design, text, etc., is engraved into the surface of a plate so that when ink is applied and the excess is wiped off, ink remains in the grooves and is transferred to paper in printing, as in engraving or etching.

  5. an impression or printing from such a design, engraving, etc.

verb (used with object)
  1. to incise or display in intaglio.

Origin of intaglio

1
1635–45; <Italian, derivative of intagliare to cut in, engrave, equivalent to in-in-2 + tagliare to cut <Late Latin tāliāre, derivative of Latin tālea a cutting; see tally

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use intaglio in a sentence

  • These intagli would be interesting relics for collectors of such flotsam and jetsam of a ruined dynasty.

    Pickle the Spy | Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for intaglio

intaglio

/ (ɪnˈtɑːlɪˌəʊ) /


nounplural -lios or -li (-ljiː)
  1. a seal, gem, etc, ornamented with a sunken or incised design, as opposed to a design in relief: Compare cameo

  2. the art or process of incised carving

  1. a design, figure, or ornamentation carved, engraved, or etched into the surface of the material used

  2. any of various printing techniques using an etched or engraved plate. The whole plate is smeared with ink, the surface wiped clean, and the ink in the recesses then transferred to the paper or other material

  3. an incised die used to make a design in relief

Origin of intaglio

1
C17: from Italian, from intagliare to engrave, from tagliare to cut, from Late Latin tāliāre; see tailor

Derived forms of intaglio

  • intagliated (ɪnˈtɑːlɪˌeɪtɪd), adjective

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