/in ton"euh koh', -taw"neuh-/ ; It. /een taw"nah kaw/ , n. , pl. intonacos, intonaci It. /-chee/ .
(formerly in fresco painting) the last and finest coat of plaster, usually applied in sections and painted while still damp with colors ground in water or a lime-water mixture. Cf. arriccio .
[ 1800-10; intonacare to coat, equiv. to in- IN- 2 + VL * tunicare, by construal of L tunicatus "wearing a tunic" as a ptp; see TUNIC, -ATE 1 ]