intaglio

noun, plural in·tagl·ios, Italian in·ta·gli [een-tah-lyee] /inˈtɑ lyi/.

1. incised carving, as opposed to carving in relief.
2. ornamentation with a figure or design sunk below the surface.
3. a gem, seal, piece of jewelry, or the like, cut with an incised or sunken design.
4. an incised or countersunk die.
5. a figure or design so produced.
6. a process in which a design, text, etc., is engraved into the surface of a plate so that when ink is applied and the excess is wiped off, ink remains in the grooves and is transferred to paper in printing, as in engraving or etching.
7. an impression or printing from such a design, engraving, etc.

verb (used with object)

8. to incise or display in intaglio.

noun plural -lios or -li (-ljiː)

1. a seal, gem, etc, ornamented with a sunken or incised design, as opposed to a design in reliefCompare cameo
2. the art or process of incised carving
3. a design, figure, or ornamentation carved, engraved, or etched into the surface of the material used
4. any of various printing techniques using an etched or engraved plate. The whole plate is smeared with ink, the surface wiped clean, and the ink in the recesses then transferred to the paper or other material
5. an incised die used to make a design in relief

n.

1640s, from Italian intaglio “engraved work” (plural intagli), from intagliare “to cut in, engrave,” from in- “in” (see in- (2)) + tagliare “to cut” (see entail).