- impasto (n.)
- "laying on of colors thickly and boldly," 1784, from Italian impasto, noun of action from impastare "to raise paste; to put in paste," from assimilated form of in- "into, in" (see in- (2)) + pasta "paste" (see pasta). Nativized form impaste is attested from 1540s as "enclose in paste," 1727 in reference to painting. Related: Impastoed; impastation.
