a mass or surface of plaster, especially as a ground for a painting, 1590s, from Italian gesso, from Latin gypsum "plaster" (see gypsum).
Entries linking to gesso
gypsum n.
substance (hydrated calcium sulphate) used in making plaster, late 14c., from Latin gypsum, from Greek gypsos "chalk," according to Klein, a word perhaps of Semitic origin (compare Arabic jibs, Hebrew gephes "plaster").