Plural of aquatint; a printmaking technique using acid to etch metal plates, creating areas of tone similar to watercolor paintings.
From Italian 'acqua tinta' (tinted water), combining Latin 'aqua' (water) and Italian 'tinta' (tint/color). The technique was invented in the 17th century and became popular in the 18th century for reproducing watercolor effects in prints.
Aquatints revolutionized art reproduction in the 1700s—they were basically the Instagram filters of their era, letting artists make their paintings look like affordable prints that anyone could buy. Many famous artists like Goya used aquatints to reach ordinary people, making art democratic centuries before the internet.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.