NIELLO is a valid Scrabble word — 6 points
Yes. NIELLO is accepted by every list we check: Collins, the North American lists and Words with Friends. It scores 6 points in Scrabble and 9 in Words with Friends.
Which word lists accept NIELLO?
| Official Scrabble Players DictionaryUSA, Canada, Thailand | Valid |
|---|---|
| Official Tournament and Club Word ListUSA, Canada, Thailand | Valid |
| Collins Scrabble WordsEnglish in most countries | Valid |
| Words with FriendsZynga word list | Valid |
Word power: 30 / 100
Our own measure of how useful NIELLO is to know. It scores 6 from 6 tiles, takes 1 hook, and its letters make up 7.2% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for NIELLO
Front hooks — 0
None.
Back hooks — 1
niellosChecked against OSPD, TWL, CSW, WWF. Takes an S, so it hooks onto plurals easily.
How NIELLO scores
Face value of the 6 tiles in NIELLO, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| n | 1 | 6 |
| i | 1 | 9 |
| e | 1 | 12 |
| l | 2 | 4 |
| o | 1 | 8 |
Drawing exactly these 6 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 38,325.
What stands out about NIELLO
- The same 6 tiles also spell 2 other words, so the rack is worth re-reading before you play it.
Counted from the four word lists we hold, not taken from anywhere else. How we calculate things
What does NIELLO mean in Scrabble?
noun
technicalprinting
A black metal alloy, usually of silver, lead, copper and sulphur, used to fill engraved lines in silver or gold and darken them into a design.
A goldsmith cuts a pattern into the metal, packs the grooves with niello, and heats the piece until the alloy melts and bonds, leaving a black design set against the polished silver or gold once the surface is filed smooth again. The same word names both the black substance itself and the whole decorative technique built around it, which reached Europe from the ancient world and stayed popular through the Renaissance for rings, plates and church vessels. Niello differs from enamel, which uses coloured glass rather than a metal alloy, though both fill an engraved line with a contrasting material. Early printmakers even took paper impressions from niello plates before inking them, which some historians treat as a step toward the printed engraving.
How NIELLO is used
Technical term from metalwork and the decorative arts; met mainly in writing about jewellery, silverware and printing history.
- The bracelet used niello to darken the engraved floral pattern.
- Renaissance goldsmiths in Florence were famous for their work in niello.
- He filled the cut lines with niello and fired the ring in the kiln.
- The museum case held spoons decorated with niello from the sixteenth century.
- A print made from a niello plate can look almost like a pencil drawing.
Written for this site: 1 meaning of NIELLO and 5 example sentences, not copied from a published dictionary.
Anagrams of NIELLO
The 6 tiles of NIELLO in a different order — 2 found.
Words starting with NIELLO
3 longer words begin with NIELLO.
Shorter words from the letters in NIELLO
Showing 40 of 41. See all in the Word Finder
Common questions about NIELLO
- Is NIELLO valid in Words with Friends?
- Yes. Words with Friends accepts NIELLO, where it scores 9 points. That game keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries.
- How many points is NIELLO worth?
- NIELLO is worth 6 points in Scrabble and 9 points in Words with Friends.
- What does NIELLO mean?
- A black metal alloy, usually of silver, lead, copper and sulphur, used to fill engraved lines in silver or gold and darken them into a design.
- What letters can be added to NIELLO?
- NIELLO takes 1 hook: 0 in front and 1 at the end.
Every word you can build from the 6 letters of NIELLO:
Open NIELLO in the Word Finder