engraving, vbl. n.
(ɛnˈgreɪvɪŋ)
[f. engrave v. + -ing1.]
1. The action of the verb engrave; the art of the engraver.
| 1601 Holland Pliny II. 569 There is in marble of his portraying and ingrauing, an old woman drunken. 1696 Bp. Patrick Comm. Ex. xxxii. (1697) 632 Interpreters take it [a Heb. word] here for an Instrument of Engraving. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. I. 397 The elegance of his designs and engraving. 1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 439/2 In Germany engraving made more rapid strides towards excellence. |
2. concr. That which is engraved; an engraved figure or inscription. rare. † Also fig. a deep impression (e.g. on the mind).
| 1611 Bible Ex. xxviii. 11 The worke of an engrauer in stone; like the engrauings of a signet. 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. iv. vii. 355 The Fall of Man did [not] wholly raze out the Engravings of those common Notions. 1738–41 Warburton Div. Legat. iv. v. (R.), It appears..from the engravings on Aaron's breast-plate, that letters were in common use. 1884 Cyclist 13 Feb. 243/1 Beautiful specimens of Doulton's ware, salad bowls and servers, with silver mounts and a suitable engraving. |
3. An impression from an engraved plate.
| 1803 Med. Jrnl. X. 187 Two painted Engravings of Cow-Pock and other Eruptions. 1816 Singer Hist. Cards 224 It was not until the latter part of the sixteenth century that engravings on copper were used as embellishments for books in England. 1860 Sala Hogarth 117 A handsome cabinet of paintings, drawings, and engravings. |