silhouette

Meaning

Noun

silhouette

Verb

1. (first-person, form-of, indicative, present, singular, subjunctive, third-person) inflection of silhouetter:
2. (form-of, imperative, second-person, singular) inflection of silhouetter:

silhouetter

to silhouette, outline

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Concepts

silhouette

outline

figure

shape

shadow

style

shadow figure

retreating figure

body build

appearance from behind

form

lineation

profile

Synonyms

ombre

forme

image

figure

ligne

ombrage

physique

portrait

style

cinéma

🎦

ombre chinoise

contour

film

genre

Translations

silueta

silhouet

Silhouette

silhouette

silhueta

schaduwbeeld

sagoma

Schattenriss

silueta

siluet

contorno

figura

Gestalt

siluetta

Pronounced as (IPA)

/si.lwɛt/

Etymology

After Étienne de Silhouette (1709–1767), French Controller of Finances. De Silhouette's penny-pinching led to the term à la Silhouette, applied to things perceived as cheap or austere, such as an outline filled only with black.
Étienne de Silhouette's surname is, in turn, gallicized Basque. It derives from Ziloeta or Zilhoeta, modern Basque Zulueta, from the local plural (see -ak) stem of zulo (“hole, cave”).