VIGINTIVIRATE Vi`gin*tiv"i*rate, n. Etym: [L. vigintiviratus, fr. vigintiviri; viginti twenty + vir a man.]
Defn: The office of the vigintiviri, a body of officers of government consisting of twenty men; also, the vigintiviri. [R.]
VIGNETTE Vi*gnette", n. Etym: [F. vignette, fr. vigne a vine. See Vine, and cf. Vinette.]
1. (Arch.)
Defn: A running ornament consisting of leaves and tendrils, used in
Gothic architecture.
2. A decorative design, originally representing vine branches or tendrils, at the head of a chapter, of a manuscript or printed book, or in a similar position; hence, by extension, any small picture in a book; hence, also, as such pictures are often without a definite bounding line, any picture, as an engraving, a photograph, or the like, which vanishes gradually at the edge.
VIGNETTE
Vi*gnette", v. t.
Defn: To make, as an engraving or a photograph, with a border or edge insensibly fading away.
VIGNETTER
Vi*gnett"er, n.
1. A device used by photographers in printing vignettes, consisting of a screen of paper or glass with a central aperture the edges of which become opaque by intensible gradations.