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.

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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

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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

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

From New York Times • Jun. 29, 2023

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

"For this project I used ordinary objects, like glassware, fruits and flowers and applied the wet plate collodion technique to turn them into something extraordinary."

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2021

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

I ascertained that they were giving ninety seconds—a minute and a half!—on a wet collodion plate, 10 by 8.

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