1. small square pieces of stone, glass, or ceramic used to create mosaics
Usage: plural of tessera; art and archaeology

Examples

• The ancient Roman mosaic was made from thousands of colorful tesserae.
• Archaeologists carefully catalogued each of the marble tesserae found at the site.
• The artist arranged the glass tesserae to form an intricate pattern.
• Byzantine mosaics often featured gold tesserae that caught the light beautifully.
• Students learned to cut and place tesserae during their mosaic-making workshop.
• The floor was decorated with tesserae depicting scenes from mythology.