Adjacent Words

sgraffito definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a ceramic or mural decoration made by scratching off a surface layer to reveal the ground

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural sgraffiti) Etymology: Italian, from past participle of sgraffire to scratch, produce sgraffito Date: circa 1730 1. decoration by cutting away parts of a surface layer (as of plaster or clay) to expose a different colored ground — compare graffito 2. something (as traditional Pennsylvania Dutch pottery) decorated with sgraffito

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. sgraffiti) a form of decoration made by scratching through wet plaster on a wall or through slip on ceramic ware, showing a different-coloured under-surface. Etymology: It., past part. of sgraffire scratch f. s- = EX-(1) + graffio scratch

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sgraffito Sgraf*fi"to, a. [It.] (Paint.) Scratched; -- said of decorative painting of a certain style, in which a white overland surface is cut or scratched through, so as to form the design from a dark ground underneath.