蚀刻 (shí kè) — etching

Definition

蚀刻 (shíkè) refers specifically to the etching process/technique — making a design on metal or other hard surface with acid or a tool — rather than the finished print itself. In art and printing contexts it functions as both the method and the field.

noun
etching
Easily confused

Examples

  • 蚀刻。
    Zhè fú huà shì yòng shí kè jì shù zhì zuò de.
    This painting was made using etching techniques.
  • 蚀刻，。
    Tā shàn cháng tóng bǎn shí kè, zuò pǐn fēi cháng jīng xì.
    He is skilled in copperplate etching, and his works are very detailed.
  • 蚀刻。
    shí kè Shì yì zhǒng gǔ lǎo de yìn shuā gōng yì.
    Etching is an ancient printing technique.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

蚀shícorrode
刻kèengrave

蚀 gives the corroding process, and 刻 gives the engraving.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 蚀 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刂Written in full as刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
亥
亥hài刻kè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

刻 is made of 刂, a form of 刀 (knife), and 亥, which gives the sound.

Open 刻 →

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