kintsugi

noun

kint·​su·​gi ˈkin(t)-su̇-gē  kin(t)-ˈsü-gē 

: the traditional Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using a lacquer and metal powder (such as gold, silver, or platinum) to highlight the repair

Poetically translated to "golden joinery," kintsugi … is the centuries-old Japanese art of fixing broken pottery.

—Kelly Richman-Abdou

The Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi is the appreciation of imperfections in objects. The kintsugi method of repair not only embraces the imperfections but highlights them.

—Sandy Knowles

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Japanese, from kin "gold" + tsugi "patch"

First Known Use

2008, in the meaning defined above