lithography

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English

A stone used in early forms of lithography.

Etymology

From German Lithographie, from λίθος (líthos, stone) +‎ γράφειν (gráphein, to write). Originally the printing surface was a flat piece of limestone that was treated with grease to form a surface that would selectively transfer ink to the paper; the stone has now been replaced, in general, with a metal plate.

Noun

lithography (countable and uncountable, plural lithographies)

  1. The process of printing an image by drawing the image with a water-repellent material onto a hard, flat surface (typically metal), then copying the surface by applying water and ink (or the equivalent) to it and pressing another material against it. [from 1813]
    Hypernym: planography
    Hyponyms: offset printing, photolithography

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading