sculpture

English

Etymology

From Middle English sculpture, from Old French sculpture, from Latin sculptūra (“sculpture”), from sculpō (“to cut out, to carve in stone”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈskʌlpt͡ʃɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈskʌlptj(ʊ)ə/, /ˈskʌlpt͡ʃə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sculp‧ture

Noun

sculpture (usually uncountable, plural sculptures)

1. (countable) A three dimensional work of art created by shaping malleable objects and letting them harden or by chipping away pieces from a rock (sculpting).
   • 1697, “The Sixth Book of the Æneis”, in Virgil; John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 403869432:

     There, too, in living sculpture, might be seen / The mad affection of the Cretan queen.

2. Works of art created by sculpting, as a group.
3. (zoology) The three-dimensional ornamentation on the outer surface of a shell.

Translations

art of sculpting

• Albanian: gdhend (sq)
• Arabic: نَحْت‎ (ar) m (naḥt)
• Armenian: քանդակագործություն (hy) (kʿandakagorcutʿyun)
• Azerbaijani: heykəltəraşlıq (az)
• Belarusian: скульпту́ра f (skulʹptúra), разбя́рства n (razbjárstva)
• Bengali: ভাস্কর্য (bhaśkôrjô)
• Bulgarian: скулпту́ра (bg) f (skulptúra)
• Burmese: ပန်းပု (my) (pan:pu.)
• Catalan: escultura (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 雕塑 (zh) (diāosù)

• Czech: sochařství (cs) n
• Danish: skulptur (da) c
• Dutch: beeldhouwen (nl), sculptuur (nl) f
• Esperanto: skulptarto
• Estonian: skulptuur
• Finnish: kuvanveisto (fi)
• French: sculpture (fr) f
• Galician: escultura (gl) f
• German: Bildhauerkunst (de) f, Skulptur (de) f
• Greek: γλυπτική (el) f (glyptikí)

  Ancient: γλυπτική f (gluptikḗ)

• Hindi: शिल्पकला (hi) (śilpaklā)
• Hungarian: szobrászat (hu)
• Icelandic: höggmyndalist
• Ido: skulto (io)
• Indonesian: seni pahat (id)
• Italian: scultura (it)
• Japanese: 彫刻 (ja) (ちょうこく, chōkoku)
• Kazakh: мүсін (kk) (müsin), мүсіндеме (müsindeme)
• Korean: 조각(彫刻) (ko) (jogak)

• Latvian: tēlniecība f
• Lithuanian: skulptūra f
• Macedonian: вајарство n (vajarstvo), скулпту́ра f (skulptúra)
• Maori: tāraitanga
• Middle English: ymagerie
• Norman: stchulptuthe f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skulptur m

  Nynorsk: skulptur m

• Polish: rzeźbiarstwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: escultura (pt)
• Romanian: sculptură (ro) f
• Russian: вая́ние (ru) n (vajánije), скульпту́ра (ru) f (skulʹptúra), ле́пка (ru) f (lépka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: вајарство n

  Roman: vajarstvo (sh) n

• Slovak: sochárstvo n
• Slovene: kiparstvo (sl) n
• Spanish: escultura (es) f
• Swedish: skulptur (sv) c
• Tajik: ҳайкалтарошӣ (haykaltarošī)
• Telugu: శిల్పకళ (te) (śilpakaḷa)
• Thai: ปฏิมากรรม, ประติมากรรม (th)
• Turkish: heykelcilik (tr), heykeltıraşlık (tr), yontuculuk (tr)
• Ukrainian: скульпту́ра f (skulʹptúra), лі́пка f (lípka), рі́зьблення n (rízʹblennja), різьбя́рство n (rizʹbjárstvo), різьба́рство n (rizʹbárstvo)
• Uzbek: haykaltaroshlik (uz)
• Vietnamese: điêu khắc (vi)
• Walloon: sculteure (wa) f, scultreye (wa)

work of art created by sculpting

• Albanian: skulpturë (sq) f
• Arabic: تِمْثَال‎ m (timṯāl)
• Armenian: արձան (hy) (arjan)
• Azerbaijani: heykəl (az)
• Belarusian: скульпту́ра f (skulʹptúra)
• Bengali: মূর্তি (murti), ভাস্কর্য (bhaśkôrjô)
• Bulgarian: скулпту́ра (bg) f (skulptúra), ста́туя (bg) f (státuja) (statue)
• Burmese: ရုပ်တု (my) (ruptu.)
• Catalan: escultura (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 雕塑 (zh) (diāosù), 雕像 (zh) (diāoxiàng)

• Czech: socha (cs) f
• Danish: skulptur (da) c
• Dutch: beeldhouwwerk (nl) n, beeld (nl) n
• Esperanto: skulptaĵo
• Estonian: skulptuur
• Finnish: veistos (fi)
• French: sculpture (fr) f
• Galician: escultura (gl) f
• Georgian: ქანდაკება (kandaḳeba)
• German: Skulptur (de) f
• Greek: γλυπτό (el) n (glyptó)

  Ancient: γλυπτόν n (gluptón)

• Hebrew: פֶּסֶל‎ (he) m (pésel)
• Hindi: शिल्पकला (hi) (śilpaklā), प्रतिमा (hi) f (pratimā)
• Hungarian: szobor (hu)
• Icelandic: skúlptúr, höggmynd
• Ido: skulturo (io)
• Indonesian: pahatan (id)
• Italian: scultura (it) f
• Japanese: 彫刻 (ja) (ちょうこく, chōkoku)
• Kannada: ಶಿಲ್ಪ (kn) (śilpa)
• Kazakh: мүсін (kk) (müsin)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 조각(彫刻) (ko) (jogak)

• Kyrgyz: скульптура (ky) (squlʹptura)
• Lao: ຮູບປັ້ນ (hūp pan)
• Latvian: skulptūra f
• Lithuanian: skulptūra f
• Macedonian: скулпту́ра f (skulptúra)
• Maori: tāraitanga, whakaironga
• Middle English: ymagerie
• Norman: stchulptuthe f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skulptur m

  Nynorsk: skulptur m

• Persian: مجسمه‎ (fa) (mojassame)
• Polish: rzeźba (pl) f
• Portuguese: escultura (pt) f
• Romanian: sculptură (ro) f
• Russian: скульпту́ра (ru) f (skulʹptúra), извая́ние (ru) n (izvajánije), ста́туя (ru) f (státuja) (statue)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ки̑п m, скулпту́ра f

  Roman: kȋp (sh) m, skulptúra (sh) f

• Slovak: socha f
• Slovene: skulptura f
• Spanish: escultura (es) f
• Swahili: kinyago
• Swedish: skulptur (sv)
• Tajik: скулптура (skulptura), муҷассама (mujassama), ҳайкал (tg) (haykal)
• Telugu: శిల్పం (te) (śilpaṁ)
• Thai: รูปปั้น (rûup-bpân)
• Turkish: heykel (tr), yontu (tr)
• Turkmen: heýkel, skulptura
• Ukrainian: скульпту́ра f (skulʹptúra)
• Uzbek: haiʻkal, skulptura, haykal (uz)
• Vietnamese: tượng (vi)
• Walloon: sculteure (wa) f, scultreye (wa) f

Verb

sculpture (third-person singular simple present sculptures, present participle sculpturing, simple past and past participle sculptured)

1. To fashion something into a three-dimensional figure.
2. To represent something in sculpture.
3. To change the shape of a land feature by erosion etc.

Translations

to fashion into 3D figure

• Bulgarian: вая (bg) (vaja)
• Finnish: veistää (fi), muovata (fi)
• Galician: esculpir (gl)
• Ido: skultar (io)

• Macedonian: ваја (vaja)
• Spanish: esculpir (es)

to represent in sculpture

• Bulgarian: извайвам (bg) (izvajvam)
• Finnish: esittää (fi)
• Galician: esculpir (gl)
• Macedonian: и́зваја (ízvaja)

• Romanian: sculpta (ro)
• Spanish: esculpir (es)

to shape a land feature

• Finnish: muovata (fi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} a sculpta (ro)

Related terms

• sculpt
• sculptor
• sculptureless
• sculpturelike

Further reading

• “sculpture” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “sculpture” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• sculpture at OneLook Dictionary Search

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skyl.tyʁ/ (p is not pronounced)

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophone: sculptures

Noun

sculpture f (plural sculptures)

1. sculpture

Further reading

• “sculpture”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• sculpteur

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Latin

Participle

sculptūre

1. vocative masculine singular of sculptūrus