etch

Definition

To cut into a surface with an acid or other corrosive substance in order to make a pattern. Best known as a technique for creating printing plates, but also used for decoration on metal, and, in modern industry, to make circuit boards.

Etymology

From Dutch etsen (“to etch”), from German ätzen (“to etch”), from Old High German azzon (“to cause to bite or feed”), from Proto-Germanic *atjaną, causative of *etaną (“to eat”) (whence also English eat).

Example Sentences

• "The memory of 9/11 is etched into my mind."
• "There are many such empty terms to be found in some learned writers, to which they had recourse to etch out their system."

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