vignette

Meanings

Noun

• A running ornament consisting of leaves and tendrils, used in Gothic architecture.
• A decorative design, originally representing vine branches or tendrils, at the head of a chapter, of a manuscript or printed book, or in a similar position.
• Any small borderless picture in a book, especially an engraving, photograph, or the like, which vanishes gradually at the edge.
• A short story or anecdote that presents a scene or tableau, or paints a picture.
• The central pictorial image on a postage stamp.
• The characteristic of a camera lens, either by deficiency in design or by mismatch of the lens with the film format, to produce an image smaller than the film's frame with a crudely focused border. Photographers may deliberately choose this characteristic for a special effect.
• Any effect in a photographic picture where qualities vanish towards the edges.
• A hardware deficiency (even occurring in most expensive models) of a computer display wherein the picture slants towards a colour or brightness towards the edges especially if viewed from an angle.
• A small sticker affixed to a vehicle windscreen to indicate that tolls have been paid.

Verb

• To make, as an engraving or a photograph, with a border or edge gradually fading away.

Origin

• First attested in 1751. From French vignette, diminutive of vigne, from Latin vīnea, from vīnum. Replaced earlier Middle English vynet.