Sketch

n. [Fr. esquisse, Sp. esquicio, It. schizzo, Ger. skizze, D. schets, from Lat. schedium (sc. carmen), an extemporaneous poem, schedius, Gr. σχέδιος, made suddenly or off-hand, hastily put or thrown together.] An outline or general delineation of any thing; a first rough or incomplete draught or plan of any design; as, the sketch of a building; the sketch of an essay.

Sketch-book, a book for sketches or other outlines; a book containing rough, or but partly finished, drawings.

Synonyms— Outline; delineation; draught; plan; design. — SKETCH, OUTLINE, DELINEATION. An outline gives only the bounding lines of some scene or picture. A sketch fills up the outline in part, giving broad touches, by which an imperfect idea may be conveyed. A delineation goes further, carrying out the more striking features of the picture, and going so much into detail as to furnish a clear conception of the whole. “A delineation may be characterized as accurate, and a sketch as striking, or hasty, or imperfect, as the case may be. So, in the secondary sense of the word, we speak of the outlines of a plan, of a work, of a project, &c., which serve as a basis on which the subordinate parts are formed. In like manner, we speak of the sketches of countries, characters, manners, &c., which give us a general view of a nation or people.” Crabb.