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marquetry

UK/ˈmɑːkɪtɹi/
nounC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechToo rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Marquetry is a picture made of inlaid pieces of coloured wood. A panel of marquetry.

The pieces are cut in a stack so that every one fits its neighbour exactly. Marquetry uses no stain at all in good work, only woods that are those colours already.

Sailko · CC BY 3.0

Definitions of marquetry

  1. 1nounmarquetryA picture made of inlaid pieces of coloured wood.C2

    “The marquetry on the lid showed a harbour.”

marquetry is a craft.

Where it comes from

Middle French marqueterie, from marqueter, to mark or variegate.

  1. Middle French

    marqueterie

  2. English, today

    marquetry

From Middle French marqueterie.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Antiques & Collecting

Practise this word

marquetry in the wild

  • Straw marquetry is a craft very similar to that of wood marquetry, except that straw replaces the wood veneer.

    Straw marquetry

  • There are accounts of nuns in France and Switzerland making a variety of items using straw marquetry.

    Straw marquetry

  • Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying that is similar to marquetry.

    Intarsia

  • Similar to marquetry, it uses small pieces of wood, bone, ivory, metal, or mother-of-pearl to create inlaid geometric patterns on a wood base.

    Certosina

  • Giuseppe Maggiolini, himself a marquetry-maker (intarsiatore), was the pre-eminent cabinet-maker (ebanista) in Milan in the later 18th century.

    Giuseppe Maggiolini

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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.