English Explanatory Dictionary

etch

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To cut into a surface with an acid or other corrosive substance in order to make a pattern. Best known as a technique for creating printing plates, but also used for decoration on metal, and, in modern industry, to make circuit boards.
  2. To engrave a surface.
  3. To make a lasting impression.
  4. To sketch; to delineate.
noun
  1. Obsolete form of eddish.

Pronunciation

/ɛt͡ʃ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-etch.wav

Word forms

etch etches etching etched

Etymology

From Dutch etsen (“to etch”), from German ätzen (“to etch”), from Old High German azzon (“to cause to bite or feed”), from Proto-Germanic *atjaną, causative of *etaną (“to eat”) (whence also English eat).

Related words

etchant etching

Derived words

cryoetch etchable etcher etchplain etchplanation microetch overetch photoetch piranha etch self-etch total-etch underetch
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