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bas-relief (noun) – (Art Terms) sculpture in low relief, in which the forms project slightly from the background but no part is completely detached from it. Also called (Italian): basso rilievo

Source : The Free Dictionary

Etymology : The best way to understand the meaning of bas-relief is to see one—and the easiest way to do that is to look at a dollar, 50 cents or other coin and examine the raised images on it; they’re all bas-reliefs. English speakers adopted bas-relief from French (where bas means “low” and relief means “raised work”) during the mid-1600s; earlier, we borrowed the synonymous basso-relievo from Italian. The French and Italian terms have common ancestors (and, in fact, the French word is likely a translation of the Italian), but English speakers apparently borrowed the two independently. Bas-relief is more prevalent in English today, although the Italian-derived term has not disappeared completely from the language.

Peter is a fourth-generation New Zealander, with his mother's and father's folks having arrived in New Zealand in the 1870s. He lives in Lower Hutt with his wife, some cats and assorted computers. His...