Meanings
plural bas-reliefs · alternative basrelief · alternative bas relief · alternative archaic bass-relief
- countableuncountablesculptureA low or mostly-flat sculpture which is carved into a wall, or is in the form of a tile mounted flat to a wall, rather than a fully three-dimensional, free-standing figure.
Near-synonyms: cavo-relievo, cavo-rilievo, intaglio-rilievo, sunken relief, cameo (jewelry)
Synonyms: basso-relievo, basso-rilievo, low relief, cavo-relievo, cavo-rilievo, intaglio-rilievo, sunken relief, cameo · Antonyms: alto-relievo, high relief
alternative basrelief · alternative bas relief · alternative archaic bass-relief
- not comparableIn the bas-relief style; low or mostly flat.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA low or mostly-flat sculpture which is carved into a wall, or is in the form of a tile mounted flat to a wall, rather than a fully three-dimensional, free-standing figure.
Origin
- Latinrelevare“to raise up, make light”
- Italianbassorilievo
- Frenchbas-relief
- Englishbas-relief
From French bas-relief, from Italian bassorilievo, compound of basso (“low”) + rilievo (“relief”), from Latin relevare (“to raise up, make light”).
More words from French, Italian, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian барелеф
- барелеф (barelef)a low or mostly-flat sculpture
Catalan baix relleu
- baix relleua low or mostly-flat sculpture
Chinese Mandarin 浮雕
- 浮雕 (fúdiāo)a low or mostly-flat sculpture
Dutch bas-reliëf
- bas-reliëfa low or mostly-flat sculpture
Esperanto bareliefo
- bareliefoa low or mostly-flat sculpture
Finnish reliefi
- reliefia low or mostly-flat sculpture
French bas-relief
- bas-reliefa low or mostly-flat sculpture
German Basrelief, Flachrelief
- Basreliefa low or mostly-flat sculpture
- Flachreliefa low or mostly-flat sculpture
Greek χαμηλό ανάγλυφο
- χαμηλό ανάγλυφο (chamiló anáglyfo)a low or mostly-flat sculpture
Irish rilíf íseal
- rilíf íseala low or mostly-flat sculpture
Italian bassorilievo
- bassorilievoa low or mostly-flat sculpture
Japanese 浅浮き彫り
- 浅浮き彫り (asa ukibori)a low or mostly-flat sculpture
Polish płaskorzeźba
- płaskorzeźbaa low or mostly-flat sculpture
Portuguese baixo-relevo
- baixo-relevoa low or mostly-flat sculpture
Russian барелье́ф
- барелье́ф (barelʹjéf)a low or mostly-flat sculpture
Spanish bajorrelieve
- bajorrelievea low or mostly-flat sculpture
Turkish alçak rölyef
- alçak rölyefa low or mostly-flat sculpture
Ukrainian барельє́ф
- барельє́ф (barelʹjéf)a low or mostly-flat sculpture
Welsh basgerfwedd, cerfwedd isel
- basgerfwedda low or mostly-flat sculpture
- cerfwedd isela low or mostly-flat sculpture
Cite this entry
bas-relief. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bas-relief
“bas-relief.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bas-relief. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bas-relief,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bas-relief.
Source: bas-relief on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.