Main Entry: ³matte

Pronunciation: \ˈmat\

Function: noun

Etymology: French, from Middle French, crude metal, curdled milk, from feminine of mat thick, dull, matte

Date: 1839

1 : a crude mixture of sulfides formed in smelting sulfide ores of metals (as copper, lead, or nickel)
2 : a motion-picture effect in which part of a scene is blocked out and later replaced by footage containing other material (as a background painting)