lithography

IPA/lɪˈθɒɡrəfi/
KK[ləθˈɑɡrəfi]IPA/lɪˈθɑːɡrəfi/

lithography — noun

1. a method of printing from a flat, chemically treated surface — usually a stone s

1.nounC1
Definition

a method of printing from a flat, chemically treated surface — usually a stone slab or a metal sheet — in which the design holds a greasy ink while the rest of the surface repels it, allowing the image to be transferred onto paper or another material

Example

Yuki learned lithography in her printmaking class at the Taipei art school.

The museum displayed rare posters printed by traditional stone lithography.

collocation: traditional stone lithography

Common collocations
  • stone lithography
  • offset lithography
  • colour lithography (color lithography)
  • traditional lithography
  • digital lithography
  • learn / study / practise lithography
  • use lithography for [something]
Synonyms
  • planographic printing

    a broader technical term for any flat-surface printing method; more formal and rarely used outside specialist writing

  • offset printing

    a modern form of lithography where ink is transferred to a rubber roller first; very common in commercial printing but not an exact synonym for all lithography

Antonyms
  • intaglio

    a printing method where ink sits in cut grooves, opposite of the flat-surface chemical principle of lithography

  • relief printing

    a method where the inked surface is raised (like woodblock), whereas lithography prints from a flat plane

Grammar Patterns

lithography [uncountable noun]

Usage Note

An uncountable noun — you talk about 'learning lithography' or 'using lithography', but not 'a lithography'. The countable form 'a lithograph' refers to a single print made by this process. Common in formal or art-historical contexts; in everyday speech people usually say 'print' or 'poster'.

Common Mistakes

She bought a beautiful lithography at the gallery.
She bought a beautiful lithograph at the gallery.
'Lithography' is the printing method; the finished picture is a 'lithograph'.
The museum has many old lithographies.
The museum has many old lithographs.
The technique is uncountable; the prints are countable and use '-graph'.

Word family

  • lithograph
    nounC1
  • lithographic
    adjectiveC1
  • lithographer
    nounC1
  • lithographically
    adverbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Lithography is a specific technique within the broader category of printmaking — it prints from a flat, chemically treated surface rather than from raised or carved lines. 'Printmaking' covers all methods (woodcut, etching, screen printing, etc.) and is the everyday word in art classrooms. 'Planographic printing' is a stricter technical synonym for any flat-surface process, but you rarely hear it outside academic or industrial writing. 'Offset printing' is the modern descendant of lithography: the ink goes from the plate to a rubber blanket before hitting the paper, making it far faster for mass production. In practical terms, an artist doing stone lithography is practicing 'lithography' as a craft, while a factory printing books uses 'offset printing' as an industrial process.

lithography ↗printmakingplanographic printingoffset printing

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • stone lithography
  • offset lithography
  • digital lithography
  • lithography technique

Etymology

FrenchGerman

Formed from the Greek elements 'litho-' (stone) and '-graphy' (writing), modelled after French 'lithographie' or German 'Lithographie'. The name reflects the original process, which used a flat slab of limestone as the printing surface. The term entered English in the early 1800s when the technique was invented by Alois Senefelder.

First known use

1813

1813, in the meaning defined at sense 1