Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🖼️ A picture border 🔑 A master key
passe-partout

passe-partout

9.9
A border of paper or thin board that goes around a picture to hold it in a frame
  • noun
  • /ˌpɑːseɪ pɑːrˈtuː/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pase-partout
  • The artist used a beautiful passe-partout to frame her painting.

Examples

  • The photograph was simply mounted with a passe-partout to keep costs down.

  • They sell frames and passe-partouts at the local art supply store.

  • She carefully sealed the drawing inside a cardboard passe-partout before hanging it.

  • I need a passe-partout for my new photo.

  • The artist chose a simple black passe-partout to enhance the colors of her painting.

  • He carefully applied the passe-partout around the photograph before placing it in the frame.

  • Using a colorful passe-partout made the landscape photo stand out on the gallery wall.

Surface Forms

passe-partout singular
passe-partouts plural

Etymology

Passe-partout comes from the French words passer and partout, meaning 'to pass' and 'everywhere'. So a passe-partout in framing is an 'all-purpose' mat that goes with many pictures and frames, like something that can 'pass' with any of them.