niello

Borrowed from Italian niello, from Latin nigellus (“blackish”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /niˈɛləʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /niˈɛloʊ/

niello (countable and uncountable, plural niellos or nielli)

1. (metallurgy) Any of various black metal alloys, made of sulphur with copper, silver or lead, used to create decorative designs on other metals.
   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 283:

     a young woman named Renata, with a gesturing of her dark curls, beckoned him in with a cigarette-case of Russian silver and niello, which sprang open to reveal a collection of “smokes” […]

2. An impression on paper taken from the engraved or incised surface before the niello alloy has been inlaid.

• nielloware

niello (third-person singular simple present niellos, present participle nielloing, simple past and past participle nielloed)

1. (transitive) To decorate (a surface) using this technique.

• Lionel, O'Neill, lionel, loline, nollie

• IPA^(key): /ˈnjɛl.lo/, (traditional) /niˈɛl.lo/
• Rhymes: -ɛllo
• Hyphenation: nièl‧lo, (traditional) ni‧èl‧lo

From Latin nigellus (“somewhat black”).

niello m (plural nielli)

1. niello (type of metalwork)

• niellare
• niellatura
• niellatore

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

niello

1. first-person singular present indicative of niellare

• → English: niello
• → French: nielle (probably)

• niello in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

• -ellino, ellino