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A.Word.A.Day--encaustic

Pronunciation RealAudio

encaustic (en-KO-stik) adjective

A method of painting using pigments with wax fixed onto the surface by heat.

noun

A work of art produced by this process.

[From Latin encausticus, from Greek enkaustikos, from enkaiein (to burn in), from en- + (kaiein) to burn. Some distant cousins of this word are caustic, calm, and holocaust.]

Examples of encaustic.

"However there are just a few lots, mostly in the evening sale, that are to die for, notably a green target painted in encaustic on newsprint in 1956 by Jasper Johns."
Meir Ronnen; The Magic of Greatness; Jerusalem Post (Israel); Nov 4, 2004.

"Hammond lays on as many as 60 layers of paint, producing a textured surface reminiscent of encaustic, where the paint is embedded in wax."
Exhibit is a Fusion of Anarchy, Exactitude; Orlando Sentinel (Florida); Oct 16, 2004.

See more usage examples of encaustic in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

This week's theme: words related to art

X-Bonus

As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. -Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz

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