aquatone
|a-qua-tone|
🇺🇸
/ˈæk.wə.toʊn/
🇬🇧
/ˈæk.wə.təʊn/
water-tint (watercolor-like tone)
Etymology
'aquatone' arose in English as a variant influenced by earlier terms referring to water-tint printing: ultimately from Italian 'acquatinta' (acqua 'water' + tinta 'tint') via French 'aquatinte' and English 'aquatint', with English 'tone' shaping the later form 'aquatone'.
'acquatinta' (Italian, "water-tint") became French 'aquatinte' and English 'aquatint'; subsequently the English variant 'aquatone' emerged by analogy with the word 'tone'.
Initially the family of terms referred specifically to the aquatint etching process ('water-tint' etching); over time 'aquatone' came to denote both prints made by that process and the watercolor-like tonal effect itself.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a print produced by the aquatint technique (an etching method that creates tonal areas resembling watercolor washes).
The gallery's collection includes an 18th-century aquatone that looks like a delicate watercolor.
Synonyms
Noun 2
a tonal effect or wash (a color or tone) resembling a watercolor wash used in printmaking or illustration.
She shaded the illustration with an aquatone to give it a softer, more painterly feel.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/29 23:08