kintsugi

[ kin-tsoo-gee ]

noun

1. Also called kin·tsu·ku·roi [kin-, tsoo, -koo-roi]. a traditional Japanese pottery repair technique in which lacquer mixed with precious metals, especially gold, is used to fill cracks and replace missing pieces:

   A 300-year old vase repaired with kintsugi was on display.

Word History and Origins

Origin of kintsugi¹

First recorded in 2005–10; from Japanese: literally “gold repair, gold joinery”