Etching

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɛt͡ʃ.ɪŋ/

Definitions

1. A technique involving acid to create designs on a metal plate for printing ; a process of cutting or engraving a surface to produce marks or patterns
2. An artistic print made by using acid on metal plates to form an image ; making a design or inscription on a material by scratching or corroding its surface
3. A method of producing images by chemically biting into metal plates for replication ; the act of inscribing or engraving lines onto a surface to leave a permanent trace

Etymology: Etching is a word that began as a verb about eating. Its root is Proto-Germanic "atjaną", a causative of "etaną", meaning "to eat", so the sense was something like "to make eat" or "cause to bite." Old High German "azzon" kept that biting sense, and German "ätzen" turned it toward corrosion, the way acid bites into metal. Dutch "etsen" carried the same idea into the Low Countries, where the technique took shape. The word is therefore tied to the English verb "eat" through a shared ancestor. Acid was the agent doing the eating: the artist coats a metal plate with a resist, scratches lines through it, and lets acid bite into the exposed grooves. The printmaking sense grew directly from that chemical action, so a picture made this way is named for the acid's bite rather than for any drawing tool.

Synonyms: engraving, impression