Cartouche

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kɑːˈtuːʃ/

Definitions

1. A distinct oval or rectangular figure used in ancient cultures to enclose names or titles, particularly in Egyptian inscriptions and art
2. A stylized scroll-like emblem that serves to highlight and protect the identity of significant individuals within inscriptions or carvings
3. An ornately designed border or frame, often elliptical or rectangular, utilized in historical contexts to enclose the names of deities or pharaohs in inscriptions and monuments

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "cartouche" is that its scroll-shaped sense is a later extension of a word for a paper cartridge. The French "cartouche" first meant a roll of paper or a cartridge, and the Italian it came from, "cartuccia," referred to a rolled sheet of paper. Both trace back to "carta," paper, from Latin "charta," which was borrowed from Ancient Greek "khártēs," a papyrus sheet. The English word "cartridge" is a doublet of "cartouche," so the two came into English along separate routes and kept their sense of a rolled or packed container. The gun-cartridge meaning is the one most readers know, and the scroll-shaped ornament grew out of the same image of a rolled sheet. In its architectural and archaeological use, a cartouche is the oval frame that encloses a royal name in Egyptian hieroglyphs, which is why the term is often used of those carved emblems. The emblem's job of marking and protecting a name is what links it back to the rolled paper it was named after.

Synonyms: inscription, label, tablet