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etching

etching

14 6.3
A picture made by cutting a metal plate with acid or the process of making that picture
  • noun
  • /ˈɛtʃɪŋ/
translation icon : grabado
  • Rembrandt was a highly original etcher; his etchings are given as much importance as his paintings.
  • acid etching
  • dry etching
  • wet etching

Also that same year Dix's book of etchings called De Krieg was published.

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Examples

  • Also that same year Dix's book of etchings called De Krieg was published.

  • Tell me some more about your etchings.

  • "How did you print this etching?" he asked the young man.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • That etching that you have upstairs is about the exact same thing happening 400 years earlier.

  • Seen any good etchings lately, Bill?

  • "A watercolor and a nice little etching," said Alicia, distracted for the moment.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The last of his etchings is probably Landscape with a Cannon, dated 1518.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Radu was the leading authority on the etchings on that breastplate.

  • Ryan runs CarbonForm Design, and creates new techniques for metalwork, like etching photographs and similar glorious things.

  • The museum has a collection of beautiful etchings that showcase historical events.

Synonyms

print
vsetching
105 3.6

A picture made by pressing paper on a carved surface with ink

refers to the plate or process using acid rather than the final paper image
engraving
vsetching
25 4.1

A picture made by cutting or etching a hard surface

focuses on the acid cutting process on metal plates rather than any hard surface
copperplate engraving
vsetching
  • Specialized
8.2

An image cut into a copper plate and printed on paper

is made by using acid to cut designs into metal plates
to graving
vsetching
  • Archaic
7.9

To cut words and designs into metal or stone

is mainly about acid cutting on metal plates rather than carving letters
line engraving
vsetching
  • Specialized
7.6

A picture made by cutting lines into metal and then printing it

uses acid to bite designs into plates rather than only cutting regular lines
steel engraving
vsetching
6.4

A picture printed from a steel plate with a design cut into it

is made by acid cutting into metal plates rather than only working on steel

Antonyms

142 1.0

A surface that has nothing written or printed on it

3 5.9

The act of removing writing or information from a document

How Detailed

engraving
25 4.1
etching
14 6.3
drawing
184 1.0
sketch
150 2.5

Surface Forms

etching singular
etchings plural

Morphology

etching = etch (transparent) = etch + ing

The word 'etching' is transparently derived from the verb 'etch' with the addition of the suffix '-ing', indicating the process or result of etching.

Etymology

Etching comes from the verb etch, from an old Dutch word meaning 'to eat' and is like the simple English verb eat. Artists use acid that seems to 'eat' into a metal plate to cut lines, so an etching is a picture 'eaten' into the plate.