noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈd͡ʒɛsəʊ/
rhymes with -ɛsəʊ
1
noun
Meaning 1
A mixture of plaster of Paris and glue used to prepare a surface for painting.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
Examples
1994, Timothy Noad, Patricia Seligman, The Illuminated Alphabet, The Quarto Group (Chartwell Books), 2017, page 27, The combination of leaf gold and gesso is almost miraculous. No photographic reproduction can adequately show the brilliant effect of raised gesso.
2007, Robin Cormack, Icons, The British Museum Press, Harvard University Press, page 33, The idea was that this would serve as a binder for the layer of gesso or at least might help to prevent the painting from instantly cracking apart if the wood split at any time.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A work of art done in gesso.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
gypsum or plaster of Paris spread on a surface to make it suitable for painting or gilding (or a surface so prepared)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: gypsum, plaster of Paris, plaster
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian gesso. Doublet of gypsum. Compare Portuguese gesso (“gypsum; plaster, cast”) and Spanish yeso (“gypsum; plaster, cast”).
Across languages
Translations
8 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
гипс
(gips)
— mixture of plaster of Paris and glue
Czech:
šeps
— mixture of plaster of Paris and glue
Finnish:
gesso
— mixture of plaster of Paris and glue
Georgian:
თაბაშირი
(tabaširi)
— mixture of plaster of Paris and glue
Italian:
gesso
— mixture of plaster of Paris and glue
Māori:
pani pākeho
— mixture of plaster of Paris and glue
Polish:
gips sztukatorski
— mixture of plaster of Paris and glue
Portuguese:
gesso
— mixture of plaster of Paris and glue
