Skip to content

Tessera

tessera (single tile in a mosaic)

noun TES-se-rah Rare

Origin: from Latin/Greek 'tessera' (square piece)

Usage Note

Tessera (plural Tesserae) is a single small piece of stone, glass or ceramic used in mosaic work. The size and shape of individual Tesserae determine the resolution and texture of the finished mosaic; gold glass Tesserae are set in plaster at carefully chosen angles.

Examples

"Jede einzelne Tessera wurde mit einer Zange auf die richtige Größe zugeschnitten."

Natural Translation

Each individual tessera was cut to the right size with pliers.

Literal Translation

Each individual tessera was cut to the right size with pliers.

Explore German by topic