Sentence:  <WSD>SGRAFFITI</WSD>. Artwork painted on the exterior of private homes, <WSD>sgraffiti</WSD> emerged at the end of the 19th century, when city officials encouraged urban beautification by organizing competitions for decorating house fronts. Several techniques developed; the most common one involves applying a light-colored base to the surface, after which portions of the base are scratched away while still wet, leaving the support medium to show through in displaying a drawing. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An instance or sample of sgraffito.