Borrowing from French silhouette, from the name of Étienne de Silhouette (1709-1767), a French politician. His surname, in turn, is (gallicized) Basque, from Ziloeta or Zilhoeta, from zulo (“hole, cave”).
silhouette (plural silhouettes)
- An illustrated outline filled in with a solid color(s), usually only black, and intended to represent the shape of an object without revealing any other visual details; a similar appearance produced when the object being viewed is situated in relative darkness with brighter lighting behind it; a profile portrait in black, such as a shadow appears to be. [mid 19th c.]
- I could see a silhouette of a figure looking out from the window, but I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.
- To represent by a silhouette; to project upon a background, so as to be like a silhouette. [late 19th c.]
silhouette f (plural silhouettes)
- first-person singular present indicative of
- third-person singular present indicative of
- first-person singular present subjunctive of
- third-person singular present subjunctive of
- second-person singular imperative of