sculpture

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈskʌlp.tʃə/, US /ˈskʌlp.tʃɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sculptūra (“sculpture”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from the past participle stem of sculpō (“to carve, engrave”), a back-formation from compounds such as exsculpō, from scalpō (“to carve, cut, scratch”) (see shelf),^[2][3][4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *skel- (“to cut”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The art of carving or engraving: 1390 in the OED, before 1393 in Gower in Barnhart, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[7][2][3] It at first included carving in relief and intaglio,^[2] and was rare before the 17th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

A work of sculpture is from 1616,^[2][7][3] and an engraved picture from 1654.^[7] In natural history, markings on a shell or skin are its sculpture (1826).^[7] The verb is from 1645, in John Evelyn's diary,^[2][7][5] and sculptor from 1634.^[2] Sculpt and sculptural are from the 19th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 1390 – the art of carving.^[7]
• 1616 – a work of sculpture.^[2][7]
• 1634 – sculptor.^[2]
• 1645 – to sculpture (verb).^[2][7]
• 1826 – markings on a shell.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The art of making figures or designs in the round or in relief by carving, modelling or casting.
2. A work or works made in this way.
3. Ridges or indentations on a shell or other natural surface.
4. The gradual shaping of a landscape by erosion.

Verb

1. To carve, cast or fashion stone, bronze or wood into three-dimensional form.
2. To represent in sculpture.
3. To change the shape of, as by erosion.

Word family

• sculptural
• sculpturally
• resculpture
• sculpturesque
• soft sculpture

Related words

• sculpt
• sculptor
• scalpel
• shelf

References

1. ^ 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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press