Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A paint consisting of pigment mixed with beeswax and fixed with heat after its application.
  • noun The art of painting with this substance.
  • noun A painting produced with the use of this substance.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to the art of painting with pigments in which wax enters as a vehicle, or to a painting so executed.
  • In ceramics, an arbitrary name given by Josiah Wedgwood to his attempted imitation of the painted decoration of Greek vases, the effort being to produce fired colors without the gloss of enamel.
  • noun The art, method, or practice of encaustic painting.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The method of painting in heated wax, or in any way where heat is used to fix the colors.
  • adjective (Fine Arts) Prepared by means of heat; burned in.
  • adjective (Fine Arts) painting by means of wax with which the colors are combined, and which is afterwards fused with hot irons, thus fixing the colors.
  • adjective (Fine Arts) an earthenware tile which has a decorative pattern and is not wholly of one color.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a wax-based paint that is fixed in place by heating
  • noun a painting produced using this paint

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a paint consisting of pigment mixed with melted beeswax; it is fixed with heat after application

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin encausticus, from Greek enkaustikos, from enkaiein, enkau-, to paint in encaustic : en-, in; see en– + kaiein, to burn.]

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Examples

  • The Greek characters traced on the backs of certain encaustic tiles found in the ruins of a building erected by Rameses III. at Tell el-Yahudieh may well be the work of some of these prisoners of war.

    Pharaohs, Fellahs and Explorers 1891

  • The art of mixing pigment and wax on a warm surface, known as encaustic painting, will be taught in a one-day workshop at the Getty Villa.

    Sarah Bowman: What's Up for February From Kids Off the Couch Sarah Bowman 2011

  • The art of mixing pigment and wax on a warm surface, known as encaustic painting, will be taught in a one-day workshop at the Getty Villa.

    Sarah Bowman: What's Up for February From Kids Off the Couch Sarah Bowman 2011

  • Also, the encaustic was a slow process, whereas these bold and sketchy heads evince the utmost rapidity of execution.

    Pharaohs, Fellahs and Explorers 1891

  • Some of his paintings were encaustic, that is to say, the colors were burned in; thus they must have been made on plaster or pottery of some sort.

    A History of Art for Beginners and Students Painting, Sculpture, Architecture Clara Erskine Clement Waters 1875

  • This latter was called encaustic, and was, according to Plutarch, the most durable of all methods.

    The Old Roman World, : the Grandeur and Failure of Its Civilization. John Lord 1852

  • The show, which runs through May 15, features Sara Cole, a San Jose State grad who uses hot wax on panels in a style called encaustic painting.

    AroundTheCapitol.com 2010

  • But then, in a dream, a voice told him to paint the Stars and Stripes flag, which he duly started recreating using a material called encaustic - a mixture of wax, beeswax and pigment - which was known to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians.

    Home | Mail Online 2009

  • But then, in a dream, a voice told him to paint the Stars and Stripes flag, which he duly started recreating using a material called encaustic - a mixture of wax, beeswax and pigment - which was known to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians.

    Home | Mail Online 2009

  • This is fantastic, but I think I need "encaustic" explained to me.

    Rhapsody in wax Frank Wilson 2007

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