mezzotint
Americannoun
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a method of engraving on copper or steel by burnishing or scraping away a uniformly roughened surface.
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a print produced by this method.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a method of engraving a copper plate by scraping and burnishing the roughened surface
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a print made from a plate so treated
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mezzotint
First recorded in 1730–40, mezzotint is from the Italian word mezzotinto half-tint. See mezzo, tint
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An eighteenth-century mezzotint of a bust of Galen, by John Faber after a drawing by Peter Paul Rubens.Credit:
From Nature • Aug. 19, 2018
Look at James's "Casting the Runes", in which an advertisement in an "electric tram" brings the first shudder, or how a doll's house, a mezzotint or hotel bedsheets can become eldritch.
From The Guardian • Nov. 7, 2012
You'll see all the talents of the Richland artist in this 15-year retrospective — etching, drypoint, mezzotint, Chine colle and engraving.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 18, 2012
Soon after, he turned his attention to producing a series of mezzotint engravings to illustrate John Milton's "Paradise Lost" after receiving a hefty commission.
From Reuters • Sep. 19, 2011
In this year he was elected A.R.A., and exhibited “The Gifts of the Fairies,” “The Daughter of the House,” “Absconded,” and a very fine portrait of Samuel Cousins, the mezzotint engraver.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 5 "Hinduism" to "Home, Earls of" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
