silhouette Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an outline of a solid object (as cast by its shadow)
  2. noun a drawing of the outline of an object; filled in with some uniform color
  3. verb project on a background, such as a screen, like a silhouette
  4. verb represent by a silhouette

WordNet


Sil`hou*ette" noun
Etymology
F.; -- so called from Etienne de Silhoutte, a French minister of finance in 1759, whise diversion it was to make such portraits on the walls of his apartments.
Definitions
  1. A representation of the outlines of an object filled in with a black color; a profile portrait in black, such as a shadow appears to be.
Sil`hou*ette" transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To represent by a silhouette; to project upon a background, so as to be like a silhouette. Recent
    A flock of roasting vultures silhouetted on the sky. The Century.

Webster 1913