intarsia

 
Pronunciation: /ɪnˈtɑːsɪə/

noun

[mass noun, often as modifier]
  • 1a method of knitting with a number of colours, in which a separate length or ball of yarn is used for each area of colour (as opposed to different yarns being carried at the back of the work): an intarsia design
  • 2an elaborate form of marquetry using inlays in wood, especially as practised in 15th-century Italy.
  • inlaid work similar to intarsia but in stone, metal, or glass rather than wood.

Origin:

from Italian intarsio; in intarsia (sense 2) superseding earlier tarsia (from Italian, 'marquetry'); the knitting term dates from the mid 19th century