vignette English · revision 374

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vɪnˈjɛt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|vignette]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) from [[fro|vignette]], a diminutive of ''vigne'' “vine, vineyard”, from the use of vine tendrils in decorative borders.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) An earlier anglicized borrowing, ''vinette'', named a trailing vine ornament in architecture and decoration (before 1420).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An ornamental design, originally of vine tendrils, on a blank space in a book, especially at the beginning or end of a chapter or around an illustration (1751 in the OED, Barnhart and Etymonline; 1611 in Merriam-Webster).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The English took the style from France.^(Etymonline) In printing the word passed from the border to the picture itself (by 1830),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and then to a picture or portrait whose edges shade off into the background without a definite border.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Cresswell 2021) About 1853 it was applied to a popular kind of small photographic portrait of the head and shoulders with blurred edges.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989) The literary sense, a short descriptive sketch or episode, is recorded by 1880, probably extended from the photographic one.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) The verb, to finish a picture in vignette style, dates from 1853.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1420 – ''vinette'', a trailing vine ornament.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1751 – a decorative design in a book.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1830 – a picture in a manuscript or book.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1853 – verb; a photographic portrait with soft edges.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1880 – a short literary sketch.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A decorative design or small illustration placed at the beginning or end of a book or chapter, or along the border of a page.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A picture or photograph that shades off gradually into the surrounding background at the edges.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A short, usually descriptive literary sketch, or a brief scene or episode, as in a film.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The pictorial part of a [[postage stamp]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To finish a picture or photograph by softening its edges in vignette style.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To describe briefly.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vignettist]]

+ * [[vignetter]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vine]]

+ * [[vineyard]]

+ * [[vinegar]]

+ * [[cameo]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}