drypoint

[ drahy-point ]

noun

1. a technique of engraving, especially on copper, in which a sharp-pointed needle is used for producing furrows having a burr that is often retained in order to produce a print characterized by soft, velvety black lines.
2. a print made by this technique.

Word History and Origins

Origin of drypoint¹

First recorded in 1825–35; dry + point

Example Sentences

Realized in a mix of etching, drypoint, charcoal, charcoal pencil, and pen and ink on paper, the drawings — recalling the work of Piranesi and showing otherworldly landscapes and architectures — serve as both tributes to the past and invocations of a more just future.

From New York Times

Today, the shop offers prints for all sorts of budgets, from a 2005 black-and-white etching of Midtown building ads for $75 to an 1894 color drypoint print by Mary Cassatt for $325,000.

From New York Times

Today, the shop offers prints for all sorts of budgets, from a 2005 black-and-white etching of Midtown building ads for $75 to an 1894 color drypoint print by Mary Cassatt for $325,000.

From New York Times

Even when he gets close to giving her some genuine psychological presence, as in an 1861 drypoint called simply “Jo,” she seems to be dissolving into the background, her wild hair fusing with the animated lines that define the darkness behind her.

From Washington Post

She appears in paintings, drawings, etchings and drypoint renderings, sometimes as the central figure, sometimes as a talismanic interloper, as in the small, sketchy figure in a white dress seen in the foreground of the river scene “Battersea Reach,” from 1862-1863.

From Washington Post