scumble: M-W's Word of the Day

****************************************************************
Enjoy a cornucopia of playable words with the new
fourth edition of The Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?scrabdic.htm&3
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for December 1 is:

scumble \SKUM-bul\ verb
1 a : to make (as color or a painting) less brilliant by covering with a thin coat of opaque or semiopaque color b : to apply (a color) in this manner
*2 : to soften the lines or colors of (a drawing) by rubbing lightly

Example sentence:
The painting's dreamy look was created by first drawing sharply defined figures and then scumbling them.

Did you know?
The history of "scumble" is blurry, but the word is thought to be related to the verb "scum," an obsolete form of "skim" (meaning "to pass lightly over"). Scumbling, as first perfected by artists such as Titian, involves passing dry, opaque coats of oil paint over a tinted background to create subtle tones and shadows. But although the painting technique dates to the 16th century, use of the word "scumble" is only known to have begun in the late 18th century. The more generalized "smudge" or "smear" sense appeared even later, in the mid-1800s.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

You Are Subscribed As: WORDFORTHEDAY.DROP@blogger.com
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://www.startsampling.com/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2005 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102

*mf mwt 120105 WORDFORTHEDAY.DROP@blogger.com mf*