Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Something, such as a master key, that permits one to pass or go at will.
- noun A border, such as a mat, that is used to frame or mount a picture.
- noun An adhesive tape or a gummed paper used for a similar purpose.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun That by means of which one can pass anywhere; a master-key; a latch-key.
- noun In engraving, an engraved plate or block forming an ornamental border around an aperture into which the engraved portrait or picture may be inserted;. also, a typographical frame or ornamental border about a page, etc.: a French use.
- noun 3 A picture-frame consisting usually of a pasteboard back and a piece of glass, between which a drawing or engraving is placed, often with a plain or ornamented mat between it and the glass, the whole being held in position by means of strips of paper pasted over the edges.
- To place in a passe-partout frame.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun obsolete That by which one can pass anywhere; a safe-conduct.
- noun A master key; a latchkey.
- noun A light picture frame or mat of cardboard, wood, or the like, usually put between the picture and the glass, and sometimes serving for several pictures.
- noun A strip of adhesive paper or gummed tape used to mount a picture between a piece of glass and a backing.
- noun The method of mounting a picture between a piece of glass and a backing, using a passe-partout{4}.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete That by which one can pass anywhere; a
safe-conduct . - noun obsolete A
master key ; alatchkey . - noun obsolete A light
picture frame ormat ofcardboard ,wood , etc., usually put between the picture and the glass, and sometimes serving for several pictures.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a mounting for a picture using gummed tape
- noun key that secures entrance everywhere
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Thanks for telling us about your doughty passe-partout!
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The passe-partout is STILL sticking the three together and I wonder just how many modern tapes have this lasting sticky strength?
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The second is passe-partout: "Inscribed on the slightly foxed passe-partout... were the words: Gracie Irlam, Urmston nr Manchester, 17 May 1944."
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Hence passe-partout frame, a frame ready made with such a mount for reception of photographs, etc...
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Then place on the whole a glass plate of the same size as the first and border like a passe-partout.
Photographic Reproduction Processes Peter C. Duchochois
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I framed my copy as tastefully as I could, in a simple but harmonious _passe-partout_, and sent it to Miss Mehitable, with Fanny's love.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 109, November, 1866 Various
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Slayback's dun-colored walls was a passe-partout snowscape, night closing in, and pink cottage windows peering out from under eaves.
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His eyes once more roved about the room as if he were seeking something, and stepping deliberately to a passe-partout photograph of King George V., he ripped off the binding with his pocket-knife and tore from it the glass.
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D'autant plus que l'emploi inconditionnel de la formule a contribué à faire de l'information un terme passe-partout, très éloigné même de sa théorisation mathématique (Shannon), de sa signification informatique initiale.
Entretiens / Interviews / Entrevistas Marie Lebert
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This manner and bearing of his, he looked upon as a _passe-partout_, and there was certainly one item in his character that outshadowed all the rest, namely his conceit, or self-sufficiency which was constantly asserting itself in his every look and action.
Honor Edgeworth Ottawa's Present Tense [pseud.] Vera
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