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)