intarsia

American  

[in-tahr-see-uh] / ɪnˈtɑr si ə /

noun

1. an art or technique of decorating a surface with inlaid patterns, especially of wood mosaic, developed during the Renaissance.

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intarsia British  

/ ɪnˈtɑːsɪə /

noun

1. a decorative or pictorial mosaic of inlaid wood or sometimes ivory of a style developed in the Italian Renaissance and used esp on wooden wall panels

2. the art or practice of making such mosaics

3. (in knitting) an individually worked motif

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Other Word Forms

• intarsiate adjective

Etymology

Origin of intarsia

1860–65; alteration (influenced by Italian tarsia ) of Italian intarsio, derivative of intarsiare to inlay, equivalent to in- in- ² + tarsiare < Arabic tarṣīʿ an inlay, incrustation; tarsia

Example Sentences

It was most striking in a wavy oxblood-and-black intarsia leather jacket.

From Seattle Times

The divo’s suits were mostly with shorts — sometimes silken, sometimes tweed with lurex threading, sometimes leather — with a loose jacket or perhaps an intarsia sweater.

From Seattle Times

The swirling patterns of Earth showed up on jacquard coats and intarsia knitwear and fur, and on a pair of ample coveralls.

From Seattle Times

For accessories, Venturini Fendi marked 25 years of the brand's Baguette's bag by bringing back editions in cashmere, shearling-lined leather and intarsia mink.

From Reuters

In his collections, he wove in direct references to Africa and Martin Luther King Jr. He also imported hip-hop’s sense of collectivity into his garments, once delivering an intarsia sweater depicting the outline of 38 people who worked on his clothing.

From New York Times