pigment

/ˈpɪgmənt/

/ˈpɪgmənt/

Other forms: pigments; pigmented; pigmenting

Something's color is its pigment. Technically, all living things have a natural pigment — leaves have a green pigment for example — but the word is more generally applied to human skin color.

The other, more technical, use of pigment refers to the substance, usually a powder, that is added to a liquid to give it its color. For example, ultramarine paint is made from a crushed blue silicate that mixed with oil produces a brilliant blue tone. Other pigments were achieved in less pleasant ways. The bright yellow of many Indian paintings? Cow's urine. The red of medieval ox-blood walls? You guessed it.

Definitions of pigment

1. noun

   dry coloring material (especially a powder to be mixed with a liquid to produce paint, etc.)
   types:

   chlorophyl, chlorophyll

   any of a group of green pigments found in photosynthetic organisms; there are four naturally occurring forms

   bacteriochlorophyll

   a substance in photosensitive bacteria that is related to but different from chlorophyll of higher plants

   phycobilin

   water-soluble proteinaceous pigments found in red algae and cyanobacteria

   phycoerythrin

   red pigment in red algae

   phycocyanin

   blue pigment in algae

   titania, titanic oxide, titanium dioxide, titanium oxide

   a white powder used as a pigment for its high covering power and durability

   cobalt blue, cobalt ultramarine

   greenish-blue pigment consisting essentially of cobalt oxide and alumina

   earth color

   a colored mineral used as a pigment

   mosaic gold, stannic sulfide

   a yellow pigment sometimes suspended in lacquer

   carotenoid

   any of a class of highly unsaturated yellow to red pigments occurring in plants and animals

   animal pigment

   pigment occurring in animals

   cerulean blue

   light greenish-blue pigment consisting essentially of oxides of cobalt and tin

   chrome green

   any of a class of green pigments consisting of chrome yellow and iron blue

   Hooker's green

   green pigment consisting of Prussian blue mixed with gamboge

   chrome yellow

   any of several yellow pigments consisting of normal lead chromate and other lead compounds

   bister, bistre

   a water-soluble brownish-yellow pigment made by boiling wood soot

   flavonoid

   any of a large class of plant pigments having a chemical structure based on or similar to flavone

   Indian red

   a red pigment composed in part from ferric oxide which is often used in paints and cosmetics

   ivory black

   a black pigment made from grinding burnt ivory in oil

   Prussian blue, iron blue

   any of various blue pigments

   Payne's gray, Payne's grey

   any pigment that produces a greyish to dark greyish blue

   alizarin, alizarine

   an orange-red crystalline compound used in making red pigments and in dyeing

   bole

   a soft oily clay used as a pigment (especially a reddish brown pigment)

   lake

   any of numerous bright translucent organic pigments

   lake

   a purplish red pigment prepared from lac or cochineal

   orange

   any pigment producing the orange color

   water-color, water-colour, watercolor, watercolour

   water-soluble pigment

   retinal, retinene

   either of two yellow to red retinal pigments formed from rhodopsin by the action of light

   Paris green

   a toxic double salt of copper arsenate and copper acetate

   sepia

   rich brown pigment prepared from the ink of cuttlefishes

   porphyrin

   any of various pigments distributed widely in living tissues

   haem, haemitin, hematin, heme, protoheme

   a complex red organic pigment containing iron and other atoms to which oxygen binds

   haemosiderin, hemosiderin

   a granular brown substance composed of ferric oxide; left from the breakdown of hemoglobin; can be a sign of disturbed iron metabolism

   ultramarine, ultramarine blue

   blue pigment made of powdered lapis lazuli

   photopigment

   a special pigment found in the rods and cones of the retina

   cadmium yellow

   pigment of cadmium sulfide and barium sulfate varying in hue from lemon yellow to orange

   cupric acetate, verdigris

   a blue or green powder used as a paint pigment

   ceruse, lead carbonate, white lead

   a poisonous white pigment that contains lead

   Chinese white, zinc white

   a white pigment used in house paints; consists of zinc oxide

   chlorophyll a

   a blue-black plant pigment having a blue-green alcohol solution; found in all higher plants

   chlorophyll b

   a dark-green plant pigment having a brilliant green alcohol solution; generally characteristic of higher plants

   chlorofucin, chlorophyll c

   the chlorophyll present in brown algae, diatoms, and flagellates

   chlorophyll d

   the chlorophyll found (together with chlorophyll a) in red algae

   carotene

   yellow or orange-red fat-soluble pigments in plants

   lycopene

   carotenoid that makes tomatoes red; may lower the risk of prostate cancer

   beta-carotene

   an isomer of carotene that is found in dark green and dark yellow fruits and vegetables

   lutein, xanthophyl, xanthophyll

   yellow carotenoid pigments in plants and animal fats and egg yolks

   zeaxanthin

   yellow carotenoid (isomeric with lutein and occurs widely with it) that is the main pigment in yellow Indian corn

   bilirubin, haematoidin, hematoidin

   an orange-yellow pigment in the bile that forms as a product of hemoglobin; excess amounts in the blood produce the yellow appearance observed in jaundice

   urobilin

   brown bile pigment formed from urobilinogens and found in feces and in small amounts in urine

   luciferin

   pigment occurring in luminescent organisms (as fireflies); emits heatless light when undergoing oxidation

   melanin

   insoluble pigments that account for the color of e.g. skin and scales and feathers

   Windsor green

   a light chrome green pigment

   sienna

   an earth color containing ferric oxides; used as a pigment

   ocher, ochre

   any of various earths containing silica and alumina and ferric oxide; used as a pigment

   alizarin carmine, alizarin crimson, alizarin red

   any of various acid dyes; used for dyeing wool scarlet red

   French blue, French ultramarine, French ultramarine blue

   ultramarine pigment prepared artificially

   umber

   an earth pigment

   iodopsin

   a violet photopigment in the retinal cones of the eyes of most vertebrates; plays a role in daylight vision

   retinal purple, rhodopsin, visual purple

   a red photopigment in the retinal rods of vertebrates; dissociates into retinene by light

   cadmium yellow pale

   pale-hued cadmium yellow pigment

   cadmium orange

   orange-hued cadmium yellow pigment

   type of:

   color, coloring material, colour, colouring material

   any material used for its color
2. noun

   a substance used as a coating to protect or decorate a surface (especially a mixture of pigment suspended in a liquid); dries to form a hard coating
   synonyms: paint

   types:

   acrylic, acrylic paint

   used especially by artists

   antifouling paint

   a paint used to protect against the accumulation of barnacles etc. on underwater surfaces

   coat of paint

   a layer of paint covering something else

   distemper

   paint made by mixing the pigments with water and a binder

   enamel

   a paint that dries to a hard glossy finish

   encaustic

   a paint consisting of pigment mixed with melted beeswax; it is fixed with heat after application

   finger paint, fingerpaint

   paint that has the consistency of jelly

   house paint, housepaint

   paint used to cover the exterior woodwork of a house

   oil paint

   paint in which a drying oil is the vehicle

   semigloss

   a paint that dries with a finish between glossy and flat

   spray paint

   paint applied with a spray gun

   water-base paint

   paint in which water is used as the vehicle

   calcimine

   a water-base paint containing zinc oxide and glue and coloring; used as a wash for walls and ceilings

   casein, casein paint

   a water-base paint made with a protein precipitated from milk

   finish coat, finishing coat

   the final coat of paint

   flat coat, ground, primer, primer coat, priming, priming coat, undercoat

   the first or preliminary coat of paint or size applied to a surface

   latex, latex paint, rubber-base paint

   a water-base paint that has a latex binder

   oil, oil color, oil colour

   oil paint containing pigment that is used by an artist

   poster color, poster colour, poster paint, tempera

   paint made of pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder like egg yolk

   wash

   a thin coat of water-base paint

   water-color, water-colour, watercolor, watercolour

   a water-base paint (with water-soluble pigments); used by artists

   type of:

   coat, coating

   a thin layer covering something

   color, coloring material, colour, colouring material

   any material used for its color
3. noun

   any substance whose presence in plant or animal tissues produces a characteristic color
   type of:

   color, coloring material, colour, colouring material

   any material used for its color
4. verb

   color or dye with a pigment
   “pigment a photograph”

   type of:

   color, color in, colorise, colorize, colour, colour in, colourise, colourize

   add color to
5. verb

   acquire pigment; become colored or imbued
   type of:

   hue

   take on color or become colored