pastel

¹

[pa-stel, pas-tl]

noun

1. a color having a soft, subdued shade.

2. a kind of dried paste made of pigments ground with chalk and compounded with gum water.

3. a chalklike crayon made from such paste.

4. the art of drawing with such crayons.

5. a drawing so made.

6. a short, light prose study or sketch.

adjective

1. having a soft, subdued shade.

2. drawn with pastels.

   a pastel portrait.

pastel

²

[pas-tel]

noun

1. the woad plant.

2. the dye made from it.

pastel

/ pæˈstɛl, ˈpæstəl /

noun

1. 1. a substance made of ground pigment bound with gum, used for making sticks for drawing

   2. a crayon of this

   3. a drawing done in such crayons

2. the medium or technique of pastel drawing

3. a pale delicate colour

4. a light prose work, esp a poetic one

5. another name for woad

adjective

1. (of a colour) pale; delicate

   pastel blue

Other Word Forms

• pastelist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pastel¹

First recorded in 1610–20; from French, from Italian pastello, from Late Latin pastellus, variant of Latin pastillus pastille

Origin of pastel²

First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French pastel “woad,” from Provençal, from Medieval Latin pastellum (neuter) “woad” (originally “woad paste”), for Late Latin pastellus (masculine), diminutive of pasta paste

Word History and Origins

Origin of pastel¹

C17: via French from Italian pastello, from Late Latin pastellus woad compounded into a paste, diminutive of pasta _paste ¹

Example Sentences

They’re vibrant, coming in an array of pastel hues, and offer a delicious sensory experience with each bite.

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As a thank you, Perkins made her first cake with those pans for that friend — two tiers blanketed in swirling pastel frosting and studded with real flowers and fresh raspberries.

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Inside, dainty horse figurines painted in pastels peek out from nooks and crannies.

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Many of her supplies were cindered, but she found some black charcoal paper and pastels and “started doing these bizarre drawings, like stream-of-consciousness stuff.”

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From here, the colors that become the focal point are bright, airy mixes of pastels, which highlight the beauty in all of our differences and ranges of knowledge.

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Related Words

• delicate