Small roles or appearances by famous actors, or carved gemstones with a raised design showing a portrait or scene.
From Italian 'cammeo,' possibly from Arabic 'qamah.' The word originally referred to a carved gemstone technique, then transferred to brief film appearances by celebrity actors.
Hollywood borrowed this gem-cutting term for brief star appearances because both involve a famous 'figure' appearing prominently on a contrasting background—it's a perfect metaphor that stuck!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.