# emboss

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɪmˈbɒs/

## Definitions
1. To cause (something) to stick out or swell; to extrude; also, to cause (someone or something) to be covered in swellings.
2. To make (a design on a coin, an ornament on an object, etc.) stand out from a surface.
3. To represent (a subject) on an object in relief; also, of a design or subject: to stand out on (an object) in relief.
4. To decorate or mark (something) with a design or symbol in relief.
5. To decorate (something) with bosses (“ornamental convex protuberances”); to boss; hence, to decorate (something) richly.
6. To cause (something) to be prominent or stand out.
7. To make (speech, etc.) unduly bombastic or grand.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *h₁én
The verb is derived from Late Middle English embossen, embosen, embocen (“to be bloated; to bulge; to cause to bulge; to ornament in relief, emboss”) [and other forms], from Old French embocer (modern French embosser), from em- (a variant of en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’)) + boce (“swelling”) + -er (suffix forming verbs); boce (“swelling”) is derived from Vulgar Latin *bottia (“a bump”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *bautan (“to beat”), from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to beat; to bump, knock; to push”). The English word is analysable as em- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + boss (“bump, lump, protuberance”).
The noun is derived from the verb.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/emboss