sgraffiti

Variant of sgraffito

noun pl. sgraffiti

  1. a method of producing a design on ceramics, murals, etc. by incising the outer coating of slip or glaze to reveal a ground of a different color
  2. such a design
  3. an object bearing such a design

Origin: It < sgraffiare, to scratch < s-, intens. (< L ex-) + graffiare, to scratch < L graphium, a writing style < Gr graphion < graphein: see graphic

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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