What does engraving mean?
Engraving is both a craft and its product: the art of cutting a design into a hard surface — traditionally copper, steel, or wood — with sharp tools such as a burin or graver, and any image produced by that process. As a printmaking technique, ink is worked into the incised lines and transferred to paper under pressure, allowing multiple impressions from a single plate. Before photographic reproduction, engraving was the principal means of circulating pictures, from book illustrations and maps to portraits and banknotes, giving it a distinguished place in art history. Today the term also covers modern methods such as laser engraving on glass, metal, and electronics. The word carries connotations of precision, patience, and permanence, since engraved marks endure long after painted surfaces fade.
nounThe art or process of cutting a design into a hard surface, such as metal, wood, or stone, especially to produce prints from the incised plate. It also refers to an engraved picture or design itself, or the impression printed from such a plate.
- The art or technique of incising a design onto a hard surface, especially for printing.
- An engraved print or impression made from an engraved plate.
- An engraved decoration or inscription on an object.
"The museum's collection includes a rare engraving by Albrecht Dürer."
"He studied wood engraving under a master printmaker in Kyoto."
"A delicate engraving of the city skyline adorned the silver snuffbox."
Used when speaking of multiple individual engraved works or objects, not the craft itself.
"The attic contained dozens of nineteenth-century engravings of London landmarks."
Before photography, engraving was how the world saw images — every newspaper illustration and banknote portrait was carved line by line by hand.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of engraving
Engraving derives from the verb "engrave," formed in Middle English from the prefix "en-" (from Old French "en-", from Latin "in-") plus "grave," from Old English "grafan," meaning to dig or carve. The Germanic root is cognate with Dutch "graven" (to dig) and related to the sense of carving found in "grave" as a burial place. The noun "engraving" emerged in the late 16th to early 17th century as printmaking flourished in Europe.
Related word forms
How engraving is actually used
"Engraving" is largely a formal or technical term associated with printmaking, numismatics, and fine craftsmanship. In everyday speech it often appears in phrases like "laser engraving." The plural "engravings" typically refers to individual prints or engraved objects rather than the practice itself.
Easily confused with engraving
Engraving cuts lines into a surface directly with tools such as a burin, whereas etching uses acid to bite lines into a plate coated with wax.