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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
David Moin, Footwear News, 23 Dec. 2025
Emails became phone calls and eventually a Zoom meeting, where the artist and Whelan presented Harris with a maquette, or a preliminary model, of the final sculpture.
—Michael James Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Dec. 2025
However, in a gallery reached via three stories of circular stairs in the Grand Palais’ quiet south-western end, the building’s walls are lined with dazzling, full-scale, ink-on-paper maquettes of the cathedral’s new windows.
—Caroline Roux, CNN Money, 10 Dec. 2025
The plaster maquettes were smashed into tiny pieces.
—D. T. Max, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Maquette.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maquette. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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