niello

N1I1E1L1L1O1
UK/niˈɛləʊ/US/niˈɛloʊ/

noun

Any of various black metal alloys, made of sulphur with copper, silver or lead, used to create decorative designs on other metals.

OriginItalian niello ← Latin nigellus →
UncommonScrabble 6
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Meanings

nounniello (countable and uncountable, plural niellos or nielli)

plural niellos · plural nielli

  1. countableuncountableengineeringAny of various black metal alloys, made of sulphur with copper, silver or lead, used to create decorative designs on other metals.

    a young woman named Renata, with a gesturing of her dark curls, beckoned him in with a cigarette-case of Russian silver and niello, which sprang open to reveal a collection of “smokes” […]

    2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 283
  2. countableuncountableAn impression on paper taken from the engraved or incised surface before the niello alloy has been inlaid.
verbniello (third-person singular simple present niellos, present participle nielloing, simple past and past participle nielloed)

present singular third person niellos · participle present nielloing · participle past nielloed · past nielloed

  1. transitiveTo decorate (a surface) using this technique.

Origin

  1. Latinnigellus“blackish”
  2. Italianniello
  3. Englishniello

Borrowed from Italian niello, from Latin nigellus (“blackish”).

More words from Italian, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic فِضَّة مُحْرَقَة, مِينَا
  • فِضَّة مُحْرَقَة (fiḍḍa muḥraqa)any of various black metal alloys
  • مِينَا (mīnā)any of various black metal alloys
Catalan niell
  • niellany of various black metal alloys
Chinese Cantonese 黑金
  • 黑金 (hak¹ gam¹)any of various black metal alloys
Chinese Mandarin 黑金
  • 黑金 (hēijīn)any of various black metal alloys
Finnish niello
  • nielloany of various black metal alloys
French nielle, niello
  • nielleany of various black metal alloys
  • nielloany of various black metal alloys
German Niello, Schwarzschmelz
  • Nielloany of various black metal alloys
  • Schwarzschmelzany of various black metal alloys
Japanese 黒金, ニエロ
  • 黒金 (kokkin)any of various black metal alloys
  • ニエロ (niero)any of various black metal alloys
Swedish niello
  • nielloany of various black metal alloys
Turkish savat
  • savatany of various black metal alloys
Ukrainian чернь
  • чернь (černʹ)any of various black metal alloys

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

lionelnollieloline
Cite this entry
APA

niello. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/niello

MLA

“niello.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/niello. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “niello,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/niello.

Source: niello on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.