Niello

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A dark alloy composed of sulfur, silver, and lead commonly employed in ornamental metal crafts
2. A decorative process that fills engraved designs on metal with this black mixture to enhance visual contrast
3. A black metallic substance used artistically on metalwork ; a method where this dark material is embedded into etched designs on metal to accentuate patterns

Etymology: Niello is a black alloy, usually of silver, copper, lead and sulphur, that goblet-makers and silversmiths pressed into engraved lines so that the pattern stood out in dark contrast against the bright metal. The craft was practiced across Europe for centuries, and the name came into English by way of Italian, where "niello" described the same dark inlay. That Italian word traces back to Latin "nigellus," meaning "blackish," a diminutive of "niger," "black." The Latin root is the same one behind the plant name "nigella," the love-in-a-mist flower whose seeds are black, and the English word "nigrescent," meaning turning black. Both connections make sense once you see that the core idea is simply darkness, and the metalworking term took its name from the colour of the finished inlay rather than from any ingredient or technique.