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engraving

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Etymology and origin of the English word engraving

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1552 Huloet's Abcedarium More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origins
Old French en-Old English græf,-ung
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English grave
English engrave
English engraving
From the same root
English gravestone ← grave
English graveyard ← grave

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ɪnˈɡreɪvɪŋ/, /enˈɡreɪvɪŋ/[1]
  • US: /enˈɡreɪvɪŋ/, /ɪnˈɡreɪvɪŋ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English engrave + -ing, a verbal noun.[2][3][4][5] The verb is formed from en- and grave "to carve", probably after Middle French engraver,[6][3][7] a verb of Germanic origin.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of engraving, the art of the engraver: 1552, in Huloet's Abcedarium.[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the noun to 1599,[5] and Etymonline to about 1600, as the act of cutting designs on a hard surface.[3]

Semantic evolution

The name of the action soon came to denote its product: an engraved figure or inscription, from 1611, in the King James Bible, a use the OED calls rare, along with a figurative "deep impression" on the mind.[2][3] Only in 1803 is it recorded for a print taken from an engraved plate.[2][3]

Timeline

  • 1552 – the action of engraving, the art of the engraver.[2] Etymonline gives about 1600.[3]
  • 1611 – an engraved figure or inscription.[2][3]
  • 1803 – an impression taken from an engraved plate.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act, process or art of cutting designs or letters into a hard surface such as metal, wood or stone: He learned engraving from a local silversmith.[7][5][2]
  2. A print made from an engraved surface.[7][5][2]
  3. A block, plate or other surface that has been engraved for printing.[7][5]
  4. (rare) An engraved figure or inscription.[2][4]

Word family

  • wood engraving

References

  1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Engraving.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/engraving. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·