intaglio

UK/ɪnˈtæl.jəʊ/US/ɪnˈtæl.i.(j)oʊ/

nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,191 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: intaglios

An intaglio is a design cut down into a stone rather than raised. An intaglio ring, carved in intaglio, an intaglio seal.

It is the opposite of a cameo, and the purpose is sealing: pressed into wax, a cut-in design comes out standing proud. Engraved printing plates work the same way, with the ink held in the cut lines.

Definitions of intaglio

1nounintaglioA design cut down into a stone rather than raised.C2
“The museum displays an ancient gemstone carved with an intaglio of a lion.”

intaglio is a carving.

Where it comes from

Italian intaglio comes from intagliare, to engrave or cut into.

Italian
intaglio
English, today
intaglio

Built from

intagliare · Italian — to engrave

Borrowed from Italian intaglio, from intagliare (“to engrave”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Jewellery & Watches

Practise this word

intaglio in the wild

An aquatint plate wears out relatively quickly, and is less easily reworked than other intaglio plates.
Aquatint
In contrast, in intaglio printing, the recessed areas are printed.
Relief printing
The word "intaglio" describes prints created from plates where the ink-bearing regions are recessed beneath the plate's surface.
Intaglio (printmaking)
However high-pressure web intaglio printing, front, and back of the intaglio process was a new idea.
Web notes
In contrast, an intaglio "mound" is a hole dug in the shape of the object.
Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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