intaglio

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

noun

, plural in·tagl·ios, Italian in·ta·gli [een-, tah, -lyee].

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

Derived 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

But while sculpture in Egypt is for the most part in intaglio, in America it is usually in relief.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

The decoration was by stamps in the clay (intaglio) of a given subject repeated in the narrow bands around the body of the vase.

From Project Gutenberg

The machine for engraving a matrix in intaglio is operated in much the same manner as that for engraving a punch in relief.

From Project Gutenberg

However, Fig. 73 was made from a photograph of an intaglio lighted from the left.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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