inlay

Verb

inlay (third-person singular simple present inlays, present participle inlaying, simple past and past participle inlaid)

1. (also, figuratively) To place (pieces of a foreign material) within another material to form a decorative design.
   • The body of the Scriptures hath in it limbs taken from other bodies; and in the vvord of God, are the vvords of other men, other authors, inlaid & inſerted. But, this vvork is onely vvhere the Holy Ghoſt is the VVorkman: It is not for man to inſert, to inlay other vvords into the vvord of God.1617 March 1 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar), John Donne, “A Lent-sermon Preached at Whitehall, February 20. 1617”, in XXVI. Sermons (Never before Publish’d) Preached by that Learned and...
2. To place an inlay in a tooth.
   • Porcelain inlaying is a grand thing in certain cases, and it is much to be regretted that the present existing circumstances do not warrant its being used more extensively.1895, Benjamin Holliday Catching, Catching's Compendium of Practical Dentistry - Volume 5, page 159
   • It is not strange that this principle of inlaying should occur to those men years ago, for it was one of the most ancient of arts and it had been brought well-nigh to perfection. The thought of restoring broken surface in teeth, as was being done in gold and wood was ever present with them.1907, The Pacific Dental Gazette - Volume 15, page 759

Noun

IPA/ˈɪn.leɪ/

inlay (plural inlays)

1. The material placed within a different material in the form of a decoration.
   • The table and two base pedestals cost more than $4,000. The pedestals are described as having “hand applied ebonized inlay with bell flowers topped by hand carved scrolls and a fluted column.”2018 February 28, Rene Marsh, Ross Levitt, “See HUD’s $31,000 mahogany dining set”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Dec 2022
2. A filling for a tooth, made of ceramic or gold to fit the cavity and shape of tooth and cemented into place.
3. The piece of paper or the booklet inside the case of a compact disc, DVD, or cassette.
   • Putting it all together: the cassette’s been run through a labelling machine, and now this Heath Robinsonesque device adds the inlay and the box in one swift operation, taking about three seconds for each cassette.1987, Barnaby Page, How to copy half a million cassettes (in Crash magazine issue 47, December 1987)