Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Sgraffito \Sgraf*fi"to\, a. [It.] (Paint.)
   Scratched; -- said of decorative painting of a certain style,
   in which a white overland surface is cut or scratched
   through, so as to form the design from a dark ground
   underneath.

Source : WordNet®

sgraffito
     n : a ceramic or mural decoration made by scratching off a
         surface layer to reveal the ground
     [also: {sgraffiti} (pl)]