fresco

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the technique of painting with water-based pigment on fresh, damp plaster

   The artist learned fresco so the colors would bind to the drying wall.

2. 2
   noun

   a wall or ceiling painting made by this technique

   Restorers uncovered a Renaissance fresco beneath several layers of paint.

3. 3
   verb

   to decorate a wall or ceiling with a fresco

   The patrons hired an artist to fresco the chapel ceiling.

Simplified etymology

Fresco entered English from Italian in the late 16th century. It arose from Italian al fresco, “in the fresh or cool,” because a fresco is painted on fresh, still-damp plaster.

Borrowed from Italian fresco ('fresh, cool'), in the phrase dipingere a fresco, 'to paint on fresh plaster.' Italian fresco ultimately comes from the same Germanic source as English fresh. The noun shifted from naming the method to naming a painting produced by it.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary