vignette

What it means

1. architectureA running ornament consisting of leaves and tendrils, used in Gothic architecture.
2. mediaA 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.

   The centrality of this particular trope can been seen in the vignette adorning the opening page of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert's Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonnée des sciences, des arts et des métiers (1751–1752).

   2011, William Burgwinkle, Nicholas Hammond, Emma Wilson, The Cambridge History of French Literature, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 420

3. broadlyAny small borderless picture in a book, especially an engraving, photograph, or the like, which vanishes gradually at the edge.

In a sentence

The centrality of this particular trope can been seen in the vignette adorning the opening page of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert's Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonnée des sciences, des arts et des métiers (1751–1752).

2011, William Burgwinkle, Nicholas Hammond, Emma Wilson, The Cambridge History of French Literature, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 420

Where it comes from

1. Latinvīnea
2. Frenchvignette
3. Englishvignette

First attested in 1751. From French vignette, diminutive of vigne (“vine”), from Latin vīnea, from vīnum (“wine”). Replaced earlier Middle English vynet.