intaglio

[in-tal-yoh, -tahl-, een-tah-lyaw]

noun

plural

intaglios ,

plural

intagli .

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.

verb (used with object)

1. to incise or display in intaglio.

intaglio

/ ɪnˈtɑːlɪˌəʊ, ɪnˈtɑːlɪˌeɪtɪd /

noun

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

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

Other Word Forms

• intagliated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of intaglio¹

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; tally

Word History and Origins

Origin of intaglio¹

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

Example Sentences

The tiny but exquisite intaglio shows two lean but muscled warriors going at it in shallow three-dimensional space.

From Los Angeles Times

This Roman glass intaglio depicts the god Jupiter as an eagle.

From New York Times

Gems he has returned and will now go on display include an intaglio made from black glass with a bust of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom.

From BBC

The colorful intaglios — gems with incised carvings — likely fell out of signet rings worn by wealthy third-century bathers, and ended up trapped in the stone drains.

From New York Times

A collection-based exhibition is now in the works, focusing on intaglio prints from the Renaissance to the present, likely to open in December.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• chisel 
• embed 
• etch 
• imprint 
• ingrain 
• inscribe