The English word cloisonné derives from the French word "cloison" that means partition. Originally, wires or strips of metal were used to partition a surface into compartments into which enamel was cast. But in the Ming style, the different colors of enamel were sometimes allowed to bleed into each other without the partitions.

Chinese: Cloisonné was called Jingtailan (景泰蓝, Jǐngtàilán) after the name of an emperor. In China, enamel is called tángcí 搪瓷.