xylography

noun

xy·log·ra·phy zī-ˈlä-grə-fē

: the art of making engravings on wood especially for printing

xylograph

ˈzī-lə-ˌgraf

noun

xylographer

zī-ˈlä-grə-fər

noun

xylographic

ˌzī-lə-ˈgra-fik

adjective

or less commonly xylographical

ˌzī-lə-ˈgra-fi-kəl

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Current evidence dates the word xylography to 1816, but it is linked to printing practices that are much older. In fact, the oldest known printed works (from Japan and China in the 8th and 9th centuries) were made by xylography, a printing technique that involves carving text in relief upon a wooden block, which is then inked and applied to paper. This method of wood-block printing appeared in Europe in the 14th century, and eventually inspired Johannes Gutenberg to create individual and reusable pieces of type out of metal. These days, xylography can also describe the technique of engraving wood for purely artistic purposes. English speakers picked up the word from French, where it was formed as a combination of xyl-, meaning "wood," and -graphie, which denotes writing in a specified manner.