vignettes

1. A running ornament consisting of leaves and tendrils, used in Gothic architecture.
2. A decorative design, originally representing vine branches or tendrils, at the head of a chapter, of a manuscript or printed book, or in a similar position.
3. (by extension) Any small borderless picture in a book, especially an engraving, photograph, or the like, which vanishes gradually at the edge.
4. (by extension) A short story or anecdote that presents a scene or tableau, or paints a picture.
5. The central pictorial image on a postage stamp.
6. The characteristic of a camera lens, either by deficiency in design or by mismatch of the lens with the film format, to produce an image smaller than the film's frame with a crudely focused border. Photographers may deliberately choose this characteristic for a special effect.
7. A small sticker affixed to a vehicle windscreen to indicate that tolls have been paid.

verb

To make, as an engraving or a photograph, with a border or edge gradually fading away.