silhouette

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
silhouette /ˌsɪlʊˈɛt/

▶noun

• 1 the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.

• 2 a representation of someone or something showing the shape and outline only, typically coloured in solid black.

▶verb cast or show as a silhouette: the castle was silhouetted against the sky.

– origin C18: named (although the reason remains obscure) after the French author and politician Étienne de Silhouette.