vignette Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a brief literary description
    sketch.
  2. noun a photograph whose edges shade off gradually
  3. noun a small illustrative sketch (as sometimes placed at the beginning of chapters in books)

WordNet

Vi*gnette" noun
Etymology
F. vignette, fr. vigne a vine. See Vine, and cf. Vinette.
Definitions
  1. (Arch.) A running ornament consisting of leaves and tendrils, used in Gothic architecture.
  2. A decorative design, originally representing vine branches or tendrils, at the head of a chapter, of a manuscript or printed book, or in a similar position; hence, by extension, any small picture in a book; hence, also, as such pictures are often without a definite bounding line, any picture, as an engraving, a photograph, or the like, which vanishes gradually at the edge.
Vi*gnette" transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To make, as an engraving or a photograph, with a border or edge insensibly fading away.

Webster 1913