Words / B2

ECH-ing/ˈetʃɪŋ/

An etching is a picture printed from a metal plate cut with acid or a tool; also that printmaking process: an etching; an etching of. Engraving is a close twin (often cut with a burin, not acid); print is broader. Date the etching in the catalogue, then the plate size. Mix-up: etching vs sketching; etching vs itching; do not write etching for a pencil drawing with no plate.

Meaning

A picture printed from a metal plate cut with acid or a tool; also that printmaking process.

Examples

• “Date the etching in the catalogue, then the plate size, the art paper said.”
• “Etching featured in the DT method, which is the process sense — still name the acid or the tool.”

Good to know

an etching; an etching of; the etching process. Close: engraving / print. Trap: sketching / itching / a pencil drawing. Art, history, and DT. Plate print — date it and quote the size or the acid.

Near in meaning

print, engraving, plate print

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