The article is devoted to the study of the emergence and use of the term ‘marquetry’ from its origin in the 15th century to the present day. It explains the etymology of the word and discusses a number of terms for various techniques that were known as ‘marquetry techniques’ in past centuries. In the course of studying the subject, the famous work of André-Jacob Roubo, L’art du Menuisier-ébéniste, published at the end of the 18th century, was translated into Russian for the first time. In his work, Roubo describes all stages of creating pieces of furniture for various purposes, from manufacturing of veneer to polishing. Roubo, as many authors who have dealt with the use of typesetting wood in works of art, is often inconsistent in the basic classification of typesetting woodwork. Quite often, the motif of the image served as the basis for determining the technique of performance. Especially often, until the beginning of the 20th century, the meanings of the terms ‘marquetry’ and ‘intarsia’ were confused. The considered material allows us to see the use of the term ‘marquetry’ over time, as well as to describe the specifics of the marquetry technique.