cartouche

noun

car·​touche kär-ˈtüsh 

variants or less commonly cartouch

1

: a gun cartridge with a paper case

2

: an ornate or ornamental frame

3

: an oval or oblong figure (as on ancient Egyptian monuments) enclosing a sovereign's name

Examples of cartouche in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the Independent, a large bronze sword featuring a cartouche of King Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, was unearthed, along with two limestone blocks. —Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 11 Sep. 2024

Elsewhere are a dining room and a gourmet kitchen with detailed plaster moldings and a flamboyant cartouche featured above its stainless-steel oven. —Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 28 June 2024

After describing the mummification process in recondite detail—not only why the brain was removed through the nose but how exactly natron dried out the rest of the body—the child drew an elaborate cartouche with the hieroglyphs used to spell my name. —Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2022

The new owner can choose to replace this with a cartouche bearing their name or initials. —Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Middle French cartouche, from Italian cartoccio, from carta

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1