sgraffito

[ skrah-fee-toh; Italian zgrahf-fee-taw ]

/ skrɑˈfi toʊ; Italian zgrɑfˈfi tɔ /

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noun, plural sgraf·fi·ti

[skrah-fee-tee; Italian zgrahf-fee-tee]. /skrɑˈfi ti; Italian zgrɑfˈfi ti/.

a technique of ornamentation in which a surface layer of paint, plaster, slip, etc., is incised to reveal a ground of contrasting color.

an object, especially pottery, decorated by this technique.

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Compare graffito.

Origin of sgraffito

1720–30; <Italian, past participle of sgraffire to do graffito work, derivative of sgraffio a scratch, implement for drawing, itself derivative of (s)graffiare to scratch, draw on plaster with a pointed tool; see ex¹, graffito

Words nearby sgraffito

sgd., SGHWR, sgian-dhu, SGML, SGP, sgraffito, 's Gravenhage, Sgt., Sgt. Maj., sh, SHA

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sgraffito in a sentence

The sgraffito pottery is a red earthenware, coated with a white slip through which designs have been incised.
North Devon Pottery and Its Export to America in the 17th Century|C. Malcolm Watkins
Worth Bailey, then museum technician at Jamestown, was the first to recognize the source of the sgraffito ware as “Devonshire.”
North Devon Pottery and Its Export to America in the 17th Century|C. Malcolm Watkins
However, certain kinds of sgraffito ware continued to be made without apparent interruption until early in the present century.
North Devon Pottery and Its Export to America in the 17th Century|C. Malcolm Watkins
In sites dating from before about 1670, no North Devon wares are found, excepting the early sgraffito sherd mentioned above.
North Devon Pottery and Its Export to America in the 17th Century|C. Malcolm Watkins

The sgraffito ware has been unearthed in Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts.
North Devon Pottery and Its Export to America in the 17th Century|C. Malcolm Watkins

British Dictionary definitions for sgraffito

sgraffito

/ (sɡræˈfiːtəʊ) /

noun plural -ti (-tɪ)

a technique in mural or ceramic decoration in which the top layer of glaze, plaster, etc, is incised with a design to reveal parts of the ground

such a decoration

an object decorated in such a way

Word Origin for sgraffito

C18: from Italian, from sgraffire to scratch; see graffiti

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