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Maquette came to English directly from French, first appearing in our language in the late 19th century. The French word, which possesses the same meaning as its English descendant, derived from the Italian noun macchietta, meaning "sketch," and ultimately from Latin macula, meaning "spot." Maquettes are generally intended to serve as rough models of larger designs. Architects make maquettes of their buildings, and sculptors often create maquettes in wax or clay to help them realize the final sculpture. As an aside, you might spot something familiar in the word's Latin ancestor. The term "macula" in English refers to a spot (such as one on the eye) that is different from surrounding tissue; this is where we get the term "macular degeneration."

Examples of maquette in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web It was sold to me as an original piece with some maquettes of the bullets. — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, "Go inside Disney's secret archives with first look at new series Prop Culture," 9 Apr. 2020 Toogood has long worked with maquettes, or preliminary miniature models made from castoff materials. — Samuel Rutter, New York Times, "For Faye Toogood, the Rough Draft Is Also the Final Product," 18 Mar. 2020 The short PAX East demo only hints at an even wider world outside the initial domed enclosure, where your larger environment acts as its own recursive maquette for an even greater adventure. — Kyle Orland And Sarah Leboeuf, Ars Technica, "The Ars 13: Our top indie game picks from PAX East 2020," 7 Mar. 2020 The exhibit in the Silpe gallery at U of H is a collection of archival documents, maps of the river and maquettes of bridges across the river and models of animal habitats. — Susan Dunne, courant.com, "Hartford’s buried Park River is focus of exhibits at Real Art Ways, U of H," 14 June 2019 Even smaller pieces are the show's most peculiar and enchanting: The nine littlest works (7 to 10 inches tall) read as miniatures, or maquettes. — Leah Ollman, latimes.com, "For Nathan Hayden at CB1 Gallery, the smaller the canvas, the bigger the effect," 13 Mar. 2018 There are small maquettes for commissions in an adjacent gallery, including a study for a 10-foot-tall installation in Denver in which early-morning condensation produced fog (it was later dismantled). — Ann Landi, WSJ, "‘Larry Bell: Hocus, Focus and 12’ Review: Thinking Inside the Box," 18 Sep. 2018 The exhibit at the Glade Cultural Center includes maquettes of life size sculptures throughout the country — Major General James Earl Rudder at Texas A&M University, Col. — Patricia Dillon, Houston Chronicle, "Lawrence Ludtke sculptures featured at Glade Cultural Center," 12 May 2018 Erik Ludtke, the son of Ludtke, and his wife, Laura, told the stories behind several of the maquettes displayed at the Glade Cultural Center. — Patricia Dillon, Houston Chronicle, "Lawrence Ludtke sculptures featured at Glade Cultural Center," 12 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'maquette.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.