trompe

American  

[tromp] / trɒmp /

noun

1. Metallurgy. a device formerly used for inducing a blast of air upon the hearth of a forge by means of a current of falling water.

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trompe British  

/ trɒmp /

noun

1. an apparatus for supplying the blast of air in a forge, consisting of a thin column down which water falls, drawing in air through side openings

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Etymology

Origin of trompe

Borrowed into English from French around 1820–30

Example Sentences

As a viewer marches down the nave toward the high altar, the apostles also come into view, on a trompe l’oeil ledge.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

I may sound cynical, but I couldn’t help but balk at that sense of trompe l’oeil profundity, beautifully rendered but fundamentally unchallenging.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 15, 2024

One Street Grandma piece, inspired by a vintage Champion tee from the 1970s, features a trompe l’oeil image of blue overalls over a capacious, heavyweight, white cotton tee.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2023

He does all this with a combination of flat, saturated color, trompe l’oeil shadows and tiny, overlapping daubs of paint that split the difference between TV static and Ben-Day dots.

From New York Times • Aug. 3, 2023

Brahe’s observatory: the curved scale is a quadrant for measuring elevations that is built into the wall; inside it is a trompe I’oeil section of Brahe’s observatory, with a giant figure of Brahe himself.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton