SILHOUETTE

sil·hou·ette



sil·hou·ette [sìlloo ét]

n (plural sil·hou·ettes)

1. shadowed contour: an outline of somebody or something filled in with black or a dark color on a light background, especially when done as a likeness or work of art

2. something dark on light background: something lit in such a way as to appear dark but surrounded by light, or the effect produced by such lighting

silhouettes dancing in front of the bonfire



vt (past sil·hou·et·ted, past participle sil·hou·et·ted, present participle sil·hou·et·ting, 3rd person present singular sil·hou·ettes)

make something appear as a silhouette: to cause somebody or something to appear surrounded by light (often passive)

The buildings were silhouetted against the rising sun.



[Late 18th century. Via French , named for Etienne de Silhouette (1709–1767), French finance minister.]



As French finance minister in the late 1750s, Étienne de Silhouette gained a reputation for stinginess, and silhouette came to be used for anything skimped. One account of the application of the word to a “simple cut-out picture” is that it carries on this notion of “simplicity” or “lack of finish,” but an alternative theory is that Silhouette himself was in the habit of making such pictures.



".Smouldering and spaghetti-Western desolate, like Nancy Sinatra slinking through early-Bad Seeds-style clattering hoofbeat drums and twanging guitar, it might murder you in your sleep, but it’d be worth it." NME



"Silhouette bowled us over with her powerfully rich and soulful voice backed by dark blues and dirty riffs." ArtRocker