xylography : M-W's Word of the Day

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The Word of the Day for November 30 is:

xylography \zye-LAH-gruh-fee\ noun
: the art of making engravings on wood especially for printing

Example sentence:
"Since the Great Storm of 1987 unexpectedly unleashed so much material for woodcutters and print-makers, interest in xylography has burgeoned." (_The Observer_, April 3, 1994)

Did you know?
"Xylography" combines "xylo-," meaning "wood," and "-graphy," which denotes writing in a specified manner. "Xylography" didn't appear in print in English until 1816, but it is linked to printing practices that are much older. In fact, the oldest known printed works (from Japan and China in the 8th and 9th centuries) were made by xylography, a printing technique that involves carving text in relief upon a wooden block, which is then inked and applied to paper. This method of wood-block printing appeared in Europe in the 14th century, and eventually inspired Johannes Gutenberg to create individual and reusable pieces of type out of metal. These days, "xylography" can also describe the technique of engraving wood for purely artistic purposes.

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