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collodion

American  
[kuh-loh-dee-uhn] / kəˈloʊ di ən /

noun

  1. a yellowish, viscous, highly flammable solution of pyroxylin in ether and alcohol: used in the manufacture of photographic film, in engraving and lithography, and in medicine chiefly for cementing dressings and sealing wounds.


collodion British  
/ kəˈləʊdɪən /

noun

  1. a colourless or yellow syrupy liquid that consists of a solution of pyroxylin in ether and alcohol: used in medicine and in the manufacture of photographic plates, lacquers, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of collodion

1850–55; alteration of New Latin collodium < Greek kollṓd ( ēs ) glutinous ( kóll ( a ) glue + -ōdēs -ode 1 ) + -ium -ium


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The aspect ratio changes into a square format and the lensing feels reminiscent of 19th century wet plate collodion photography.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2022

In “My DNA,” he used collodion tintype, a laborious method of photography that was in vogue during the eighteen-fifties.

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 10, 2018

Using collodion negatives, a 19th-century medium, and antique lenses, she coaxed chance and accidents into her prints, reinforcing the sense of history and mimicking the random effects of war.

From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2018

The wet collodion process, which was invented in 1851, gave photographers the ability to make direct contact prints from a glass negative.

From Time ● Jan. 19, 2017

Three hours in the calotype and waxed-paper process, and half-an-hour sufficed for the collodion process!!

From The Evolution of Photography With a Chronological Record of Discoveries, Inventions, etc., Contributions to Photographic Literature, and Personal Reminescences Extending over Forty Years by John Werge

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