intaglio

American  

[in-tal-yoh, -tahl-, een-tah-lyaw] / ɪnˈtæl yoʊ, -ˈtɑl-, inˈtɑ lyɔ /

noun

plural

intaglios,

plural

intagli

1. incised carving, as opposed to carving in relief.

2. ornamentation with a figure or design sunk below the surface.

3. a gem, seal, piece of jewelry, or the like, cut with an incised or sunken design.

4. an incised or countersunk die.

5. a figure or design so produced.

6. a process in which a design, text, etc., is engraved into the surface of a plate so that when ink is applied and the excess is wiped off, ink remains in the grooves and is transferred to paper in printing, as in engraving or etching.

7. an impression or printing from such a design, engraving, etc.

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verb (used with object)

1. to incise or display in intaglio.

intaglio British  

/ ɪnˈtɑːlɪˌəʊ, ɪnˈtɑːlɪˌeɪtɪd /

noun

1. a seal, gem, etc, ornamented with a sunken or incised design, as opposed to a design in relief Compare cameo

2. the art or process of incised carving

3. a design, figure, or ornamentation carved, engraved, or etched into the surface of the material used

4. any of various printing techniques using an etched or engraved plate. The whole plate is smeared with ink, the surface wiped clean, and the ink in the recesses then transferred to the paper or other material

5. an incised die used to make a design in relief

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Other Word Forms

• intagliated adjective

Etymology

Origin of intaglio

1635–45; < Italian, derivative of intagliare to cut in, engrave, equivalent to in- in- ² + tagliare to cut < Late Latin tāliāre, derivative of Latin tālea a cutting; tally

Example Sentences

A collection-based exhibition is now in the works, focusing on intaglio prints from the Renaissance to the present, likely to open in December.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2023

Lingscheit’s sparer work, in intaglio, includes a portrait of a jackalope family.

From Washington Post • May 2, 2019

Hundreds of historical images of Manhattan are rendered in sumptuous color or in monochromatic plates produced by intaglio, the method used to print currency.

From New York Times • Oct. 28, 2015

The figurative and the symbolic, the real and the surreal creep across Thomas Wood's intaglio prints.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 18, 2012

Instead, I am staring at the pile of notes, at the soft wax impressions, an intaglio in reverse.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Related Words

• chisel
• embed
• etch
• imprint
• ingrain
• inscribe