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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, kəˈləʊdɪəm /

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:

She made them with the 19th-century wet-plate collodion process.

From New York Times Jun. 29, 2023

Alex's collodion photographs from the last 10 years have been published in a new book, The Point of Deliverance.

From BBC Dec. 29, 2022

He grew interested in the 1820s-era method of image making called wet plate collodion photography, or tintype.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 30, 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

The inventor of collodion has died, leaving his invention unpatented, to enrich thousands, and his family unportioned to the battle of life.

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 Werge, John

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