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intaglio

[in-tal-yoh, -tahl-; Italian een-tah-lyaw]
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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.
  3. a gem, seal, piece of jewelry, or the like, cut with an incised or sunken design.
  4. an incised or countersunk die.
  5. a figure or design so produced.
  6. 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.
  7. an impression or printing from such a design, engraving, etc.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to incise or display in intaglio.
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Origin of intaglio

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for intaglio

Historical Examples

  • It is an intaglio beside a cathedral, a humming-bird beside an eagle.

    My Contemporaries In Fiction

    David Christie Murray

  • I return to a strange perforated pebble, an intaglio from Dumbuck.

  • One form of press is used for all manner of intaglio plate printing.

  • The intaglio work on this side is not equal to that in cameo, on the other.

    Scarabs

    Isaac Myer

  • As already shown, intaglio and relief can be printed on one stone.

British Dictionary definitions for intaglio

intaglio

noun plural -lios or -li (-ljiː)
  1. a seal, gem, etc, ornamented with a sunken or incised design, as opposed to a design in reliefCompare cameo
  2. the art or process of incised carving
  3. a design, figure, or ornamentation carved, engraved, or etched into the surface of the material used
  4. 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
  5. an incised die used to make a design in relief
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Derived Formsintagliated (ɪnˈtɑːlɪˌeɪtɪd), adjective

Word Origin

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

n.

1640s, from Italian intaglio "engraved work" (plural intagli), from intagliare "to cut in, engrave," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + tagliare "to cut" (see entail).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper