mural Painting or other design medium applied directly to a wall; a fresco is a type of mural. The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans produced murals in tempera as well as fresco. In the Renaissance, mural painting allied with architecture in efforts to create illusions of space. The 20th century accorded more significance to the exterior mural, as exemplified by the works of the Mexicans José Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera. Porcelain and liquid silicate enamels are among the media used in modern murals.

mu·ral / ˈmyoŏrəl/ • n. a painting or other work of art executed directly on a wall.• adj. of, like, or relating to a wall: a mural escarpment. ∎  Med. of, relating to, or occurring in the wall of a body cavity or blood vessel: mural thrombosis.DERIVATIVES: mu·ral·ist n.

mural adj. XVI. — (O)F. — L. mūrālis, f. mūrus wall; see -AL1.
So sb. † wall XV; wall-painting XX.