cloisonné

[ kloi-zuh-ney; French klwa-zaw-ney ]
/ ˌklɔɪ zəˈneɪ; French klwa zɔˈneɪ /

noun

enamelwork in which colored areas are separated by thin metal bands fixed edgewise to the ground.

adjective

pertaining to, forming, or resembling cloisonné or the pattern of cloisonné.

Origin of cloisonné

1860–65; < French, equivalent to cloison partition (Old French < Vulgar Latin *clausiōn-, stem of *clausiō; Latin claus(us) closed (see clause, close) + -iō -ion) + < Latin -ātus -ate1

Example sentences from the Web for cloisonne

  • And nothing, in my judgment, more clearly exhibits this union of taste and skill than the Cloisonne work.

    The Old World and Its Ways |William Jennings Bryan
  • There were many flowers in the room—some in Cloisonne vases, others in gimcrack vessels such as are bought at country fairs.

    Simon the Jester |William J. Locke
  • They continued along one of the lower galleries of this cloisonne factory, and came to a little bridge that spanned a vault.

    When the Sleeper Wakes |Herbert George Wells

British Dictionary definitions for cloisonne

cloisonné
/ (klwɑːˈzɒneɪ, French klwazɔne) /

noun

  1. a design made by filling in with coloured enamel an outline of flattened wire put on edge
  2. the method of doing this

adjective

of, relating to, or made by cloisonné

Word Origin for cloisonné

C19: from French, from cloisonner to divide into compartments, from cloison partition, ultimately from Latin claudere to close ²