VIGNETTE

vignette

(noun) a small illustrative sketch (as sometimes placed at the beginning of chapters in books)

vignette

(noun) a photograph whose edges shade off gradually

sketch, vignette

(noun) a brief literary description

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

vignette (plural vignettes)

(architecture) A running ornament consisting of leaves and tendrils, used in Gothic architecture.

(printing) A decorative design, originally representing vine branches or tendrils, at the head of a chapter, of a manuscript or printed book, or in a similar position.

Coordinate terms: colophon, coronis

(by extension) Any small borderless picture in a book, especially an engraving, photograph, or the like, which vanishes gradually at the edge.

(by extension) A short story or anecdote that presents a scene or tableau, or paints a picture.

Synonyms: account, anecdote, depiction, portrayal, representation

(philately) The central pictorial image on a postage stamp.

(photography) The characteristic of a camera lens, either by deficiency in design or by mismatch of the lens with the film format, to produce an image smaller than the film's frame with a crudely focused border. Photographers may deliberately choose this characteristic for a special effect.

(automotive) A small sticker affixed to a vehicle windscreen to indicate that tolls have been paid.

Verb

vignette (third-person singular simple present vignettes, present participle vignetting, simple past and past participle vignetted)

To make, as an engraving or a photograph, with a border or edge gradually fading away.

Source: Wiktionary

Vi*gnette", n. Etym: [F. vignette, fr. vigne a vine. See Vine, and cf. Vinette.]

1. (Arch.)

Definition: A running ornament consisting of leaves and tendrils, used in Gothic architecture.

2. A decorative design, originally representing vine branches or tendrils, at the head of a chapter, of a manuscript or printed book, or in a similar position; hence, by extension, any small picture in a book; hence, also, as such pictures are often without a definite bounding line, any picture, as an engraving, a photograph, or the like, which vanishes gradually at the edge.

Vi*gnette", v. t.

Definition: To make, as an engraving or a photograph, with a border or edge insensibly fading away.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition