maquette

noun ma·quette \ ma-ˈket \

Definition of maquette

: a usually small preliminary model (as of a sculpture or a building)

maquette was our Word of the Day on 08/16/2012. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of maquette from the Web

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
Those cabins are sited on James Benning’s property in Pine Flat, but maquettes of them have been shown in museums all over the world.

— zoie matthew, Los Angeles Magazine, "L.A. Author Rachel Kushner Takes On California’s “So-Called ‘Justice’ System” in Her New Book," 2 May 2018
Naperville Century Walk last week approved an 18-inch maquette of the statue designed by David Alan Clark, a Wyoming artist.

— erin hegarty, Naperville Sun, "Design for a Laughing Lincoln statue in Naperville's Central Park approved," 2 May 2018
Media: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle Coppini created a maquette of what the statue was to look like, a first draft of sorts, to be auctioned off to raise funds for the victims of the natural disaster.

— craig hlavaty, Houston Chronicle, "The story behind a lost statue honoring victims of Galveston's deadly 1900 hurricane," 25 Apr. 2018
His past projects -- curated cabinets of curiosities, maquettes of childrens' rooms and artists' studios, a fallen tree rehousedin a robotic greenhouse -- delight in their aesthetic achievements.

— pelican bomb, NOLA.com, "Been wondering about that mysterious cottage on the Algiers Point levee?," 23 Jan. 2018
These are notes, maquettes, drawings and sketches, some of which have never been seen in public.

— anne tschida, miamiherald, "Frank Stella’s experiments changed American art. See them in Fort Lauderdale," 21 Dec. 2017
Visiting del Toro’s house one night, Hill noticed a maquette of a gilled man, which del Toro explained was for his new movie.

— katey rich, HWD, "How The Shape of Water’s Aquatic Beast Got So Sexy," 15 Dec. 2017

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.

Did You Know?

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."