Skip to content

gesso

chalk

noun JES-soh Rare
Home & Lifestyle Materials

Origin: From Latin gypsum, from Greek gypsos, 'gypsum'.

Also means

plaster

Usage Note

Gesso covers chalk (used on blackboards), plaster of Paris, and gypsum the mineral. In art, gesso is the white ground applied to a canvas before painting — the same word used in English art. Scrivere col gesso means to write with chalk. The plural is gessi.

Examples

"L'insegnante scrisse la formula col gesso sulla lavagna."

Natural Translation

The teacher wrote the formula with chalk on the blackboard.

Explore Italian by topic