smalto

See also: smaltò

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian smalto. Doublet of schmaltz and smalt.

Noun

smalto (plural smalti)

  1. A piece of coloured glass used in mosaic.
    • 1848, The Yearbook of Facts in Science and Art[1], Simpkin, Marshall, and Company, page 86:
      This is done by striking the smalto with a sharp-edged hammer, directly over a similar edge, placed vertically beneath.
    • 1857, “The applications of improved machinery and materials to art-manufacture”, in The Art Journal[2], page 112:
      The smalto is thus broken as far as possible into the form desired, and it is afterwards ground with emery powder upon a lead wheel until the precise size and form are obtained.
    • 2005, Reham Aarti Jacobsen, Mosaics for the First Time[3], page 38:
      Press the smalti into the adhesive in a rainbow pattern along the frame, with as small a gap as possible between the pieces.

Anagrams

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈzmal.to/
  • Rhymes: -alto
  • Hyphenation: smàl‧to

Etymology 1

Ultimately from Medieval Latin smaltum, likely via some Gallo-Romance language (in particular Old Occitan esmalt).

Noun

smalto m (plural smalti)

  1. enamel (all senses)
  2. glaze
  3. (heraldry) tincture
    Gli cinque smalti dell'araldica sono rosso, azzurro, nero, verde e porpora
    The five tinctures of heraldry are gules, azure, sable, vert and purpure.
metalli colori colori secondari
smalto oro argento rosso azzurro nero verde porpora tanné aranciato sanguigno
pellicce uncommon tinctures:
armellino, ermellino contrarmellino vaio controvaio vaio potenziato controvaio potenziato campo di cielo, bruno, di carnagione, cenerino (ferro, piombo, acciaio), rame/bronzo, morato
Derived terms
Descendants
  • Czech: smalt
  • English: smalto
  • Russian: сма́льта (smálʹta)
  • Sardinian: ismaltu (probably)

Etymology 2

Verb

smalto

  1. first-person singular present indicative of smaltare

Further reading

  • smalto in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana