etch

• POS: Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

etch, n. 

 A variant of Eddish.  Mortimer.  [1913 Webster]

etch, v. t. [D. etsen, G. ätzen to feed, corrode, etch. MHG. etzen, causative of ezzen to eat, G. essen . See Eat.].

•  To produce, as figures or designs, on mental, glass, or the like, by means of lines or strokes eaten in or corroded by means of some strong acid.  [1913 Webster]

  " The plate is first covered with varnish, or some other ground capable of resisting the acid, and this is then scored or scratched with a needle, or similar instrument, so as to form the drawing; the plate is then covered with acid, which corrodes the metal in the lines thus laid bare."  [1913 Webster]
•  To subject to etching; to draw upon and bite with acid, as a plate of metal.  [1913 Webster]

  "I was etching a plate at the beginning of 1875."  [1913 Webster]
•  To sketch; to delineate.  [1913 Webster]

  "There are many empty terms to be found in some learned writes, to which they had recourse to etch out their system."  [1913 Webster]

etch, v. i. 

 To practice etching; to make etchings.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

etch, v. & n.
--v.
1 a tr. reproduce (a picture etc.) by engraving a design on a metal plate with acid (esp. to print copies). b tr. engrave (a plate) in this way.
2 intr. practise this craft.
3 tr. (foll. by on, upon) impress deeply (esp. on the mind).
--n. the action or process of etching.

Derivative

etcher n.

Etymology

Du. etsen f. G {auml}tzen etch f. OHG azzen cause to eat or to be eaten f. Gmc

THESAURUS

etch

bed, bite, bring home to, carve, confirm, corrode, cut, deep-dye, define, delineate, depict, describe, eat, eat into, eat out, embed, engraft, engrave, engrave on, entrench, establish, fix, found, grave, ground, impact, implant, impress, impress upon, imprint, incise, inculcate, infix, ingrain, inscribe, instill, jam, lodge, make it felt, outline, pack, picture, plant, portray, print, represent, root, score, scratch, seat, set, set forth, set in, settle, stamp, stamp on, stereotype, wedge

ROGET THESAURUS

etch

Furrow

VB furrow, flute, plow, incise, engrave, etch, bite in.

Engraving

VB engrave, grave, stipple, scrape, etch, bite, bite in, lithograph, print.