Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Vignette"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Vignette \Vi*gnette"\ (?; 277), n. [F. vignette, fr. vigne a
vine. See {Vine}, and cf. {Vinette}.]
1. (Arch.) A running ornament consisting of leaves and
tendrils, used in Gothic architecture.
2. 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; hence, by
extension, any small picture in a book; hence, also, as
such pictures are often without a definite bounding line,
any picture, as an engraving, a photograph, or the like,
which vanishes gradually at the edge.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Vignette \Vi*gnette"\, v. t.
To make, as an engraving or a photograph, with a border or
edge insensibly fading away.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Vignette \Vi*gnette"\, n.
A picture, illustration, or depiction in words, esp. one of a
small or dainty kind.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
vignette
n 1: a brief literary description [syn: {sketch}]
2: a photograph whose edges shade off gradually
3: a small illustrative sketch (as sometimes placed at the
beginning of chapters in books)
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.