Schattenriß.
1. A schematic or preliminary plan; SYN. schema.
2. A summary of the main points of an argument or theory; SYN. synopsis, abstract, precis.
3. The line that appears to bound an object.
ETYM French; - so called from Etienne de Silhoutte, a French minister of finance in 1759, whose diversion it was to make such portraits on the walls of his apartments.
1. A drawing of the outline of an object; filled in with some uniform color.
2. An outline of a solid object (as cast by its shadow).
Profile or shadow portrait filled in with black or a dark color. A common pictorial technique in Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was named for Etienne de Silhouette (1709–1767), a French finance minister who made paper cut-outs as a hobby.