silhouette

Borrowed from French silhouette, from the name of Étienne de Silhouette (1709-1767), a French politician. His surname, in turn, is (gallicized) Basque, from Ziloeta or Zilhoeta, from zulo (“hole, cave”).

• IPA^(key): /ˌsɪ.lʊˈwɛt/, /ˌsɪ.ləˈwɛt/, /ˌsɪ.luːˈwɛt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛt

silhouette (plural silhouettes)

1. An illustrated outline filled in with a solid color(s), usually only black, and intended to represent the shape of an object without revealing any other visual details; a similar appearance produced when the object being viewed is situated in relative darkness with brighter lighting behind it; a profile portrait in black, such as a shadow appears to be. [mid 19th c.]

   I could see a silhouette of a figure looking out from the window, but I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.

silhouette (third-person singular simple present silhouettes, present participle silhouetting, simple past and past participle silhouetted)

1. To represent by a silhouette; to project upon a background, so as to be like a silhouette. [late 19th c.]

• silhouette on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Étienne de Silhouette on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

From Silhouette, after Étienne de Silhouette, a French politician, from Basque.

• IPA^(key): /si.lwɛt/

• Audio (silhouette)

  (file)

silhouette f (plural silhouettes)

1. silhouette

silhouette

1. first-person singular present indicative of silhouetter
2. third-person singular present indicative of silhouetter
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of silhouetter
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of silhouetter
5. second-person singular imperative of silhouetter

• “silhouette” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).