What does «azulejo» mean in Spanish?

• Small glazed brick, monochrome or polychrome, used mainly for friezes and wall cladding. It differs from tile in its manufacture, components and decoration. It is made of a mixture of white clays and flint. After firing, it is very porous and moderately hard. It is shaped by cold pressing and its outer face is sometimes decorated with relief designs. The bisque of the first firing is dipped in a glaze mixture and then fired again, at a lower temperature, in order to achieve its glaze. The glazed tile was known from ancient times, as it was already manufactured by the Assyrians in Babylon and by the Persians in 521 B.C. Its introduction in Europe is due to the Muslims, who left samples as beautiful as those that can be seen in the Alhambra in Granada, a work of the fourteenth century.
• Said of bluish-white horses.
  
  ♦ Used in: Argentina - Uruguay

Search by letter