Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A decorative inlaid pattern in a surface, especially a mosaic worked in wood.
- n. A knitted design resembling a mosaic that is visible on both sides of a fabric.
- n. The art or practice of making intarsias.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A highly developed form of inlay or marquetry in wood practised in Italy during the Renaissance period. The earliest examples are found on ivory boxes made in Venice in the fourteenth century. By using various colored woods and by staining with different colors, excellent pictorial effects were afterward produced, as in the doors of the audience-chamber in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
Wiktionary
Etymologies
- German, from Italian intarsio, from intarsiare, to inlay : in-, in (from Latin; see in-2) + tarsia, inlaid mosaic work (from Arabic tarṣī', inlaying, setting, infinitive of raṣṣa'a, to inlay, derived stem of raṣi'a, to adhere; see rṣʿ in Semitic roots). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Innovative subtleties in intarsia work appear to have increased in direct proportion to trade competition.”
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro
“Most believe that the victim [of the prank] was Manetto di Jacopo Ammannatini (d. 1450) called Manetto of Florence, a worker in intarsia, since the details of his life closely match those of the story" (xvi).”
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro
“In turn, the portraits are arranged in two tiers of 14, and the intarsia is divided into three levels, with architectural niches and cabinets (two shelves each), benches set on a low platform, and the dado between.”
Architecture and Memory: The Renaissance Studioli of Federico da Montefeltro
“Alinari via Getty Images ANOTHER DIMENSION | Walls of the tiny Urbino studiolo are designed in a technique of intricate wood inlay known as intarsia.”
“The intarsia was my favorite swatch followed by the white perfect pocket.”
“Brightly colored intarsia fishing sweaters from Jonathan Saunders (cherry-red "Fair Isle" snowflake, £315) and Jil Sander (lime green and navy chunky-knit cashmere, £1,320) are worth the outlay.”
“Net-a-Porter Brightly colored intarsia fishing sweaters like this Fair Isle knitted cotton one from Jonathan Saunders £315 are worth the outlay.”
“For Fair Isle, try Paul Smith's neon patterned wool sweater (£138) or Stella McCartney's "Polar Bear" intarsia wool-and-alpaca-blend sweater (£670).”
“Composed of intarsia, an illusionistic, two-dimensional woodwork technique developed in Florence, the studiolo is equal parts exploration of the newfound discipline of linear perspective and narrative on the life and humanistic values of its owner.”
“Although only a handful of intarsia rooms were ever constructed, there is another superb example that was built in the 1980s for one of the merchant princes of New York.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘intarsia’.
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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Knitting
Add anything you like--I'm sure we can stitch it all together somehow.
knit, knitting, yarn, K, P, YO, SSK, loop, cast on, stockinette, purl, knit two together and 54 more...
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bestiary
agave, incunable, echt, wissenschaft, friscalating, obsolescence, clavier, yajna, ecstatic, casual, protean, hum and 41 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, I
irenic, inimical, ignotism, infrangible, internecine, illumine, ingot, imposter, iconoclast, indefeasible, indefatigable, impingement and 184 more...
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patterns
ergodic, stochastic, stereopsis, echolocation, holocation, broker, map, intarsia, encipher, ocellus, muslin, mandelbrot set and 159 more...
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the omnibus
preponderance, idioglossia, acumen, heteronym, flux, anacoluthon, metonymy, impetus, constellation, exegesis, revelatory, cloistered and 877 more...
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birdlime's Words
macadam, birdlime, alabaster, inspissate, agon, trilemma, orrery, pentimento, palimpsest, palaver, donnybrook, chthonic and 16 more...
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april
some words
riverbed, saccades, arcuate, cloud, lights, flutter, electricity, spirals, leaves, sunshine, morendo, silent and 23 more...
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words from others
words from other Wordies.
gesticulate, pomegranate, automagically, immutable, goblet, palilalia, obelisk, decalcomania, viscoelasticity, pipelining, balustrade, concomitant and 25 more...
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