Primary
''fresco'' ▫ᴱᴺ|Definition|1st|20250804004943-00-⌔
fresco - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Noun
fresco (countable and uncountable, plural frescos or frescoes or (rare, Italianate) freschi)
- (countable) A cool, refreshing state of the air; coolness, duskiness, shade.
- ✤ […] I[Satan] cannot ſtay
Flaring in ſun-ſhine all the day:
For, entre nous, we helliſh ſprites,
Love more the freſco of the nights; […]1- (countable, painting) An artwork made by applying water - based pigment to wet or fresh lime mortar or plaster.
- (uncountable, painting) The technique used to make such an artwork.
Verb
fresco (third-person singular simple present frescoes, present participle frescoing, simple past and past participle frescoed)
- (ambitransitive) To paint using fresco.
Etymology
From Italian fresco, from Vulgar Latin ﹡friscum, from Proto-Germanic ﹡friskaz. Doublet of fresh and frisk.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA: /ˈfɹɛskoʊ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈfɹɛskəʊ/
- Audio (Southern England): 🔊
- Rhymes: (General American) -ɛskoʊ, (Received Pronunciation) -ɛskəʊ
- Hyphenation: fre‧sco
Printed 2026-06-28.
(echo:: @ ⌗)
Link to original Footnotes
a. 1722 (date written), Matthew Prior, “Hans Carvel”, in The Poetical Works of Matthew Prior […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan, […], published 1779, →OCLC, page 124: ↩
Secondary
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