Decalcomania

Decalcomania (from French: décalcomanie) is a decorative technique by which engravings and prints may be transferred to pottery or other materials.

A shortened version of the term is used for a mass-produced commodity art transfer or product label, known as a "decal".

Decalcomania is adapted from French décalcomanie, equivalent to décalquer, "to transfer a tracing of", plus English -mania. The verb "décalquer" is based on Italian calcare, "to stomp, trample", ultimately from Latin calx, "heel". From this same source comes calque, also known as a loan translation. One common example of a calque is brainwashing (from Mandarin Chinese xǐ nǎo "to wash the brain"). Decalcomania was first recorded in English in the early 1860s.