palette

[pal-it]

noun

a thin and usually oval or oblong board or tablet with a thumb hole at one end, used by painters for holding and mixing colors.

any other flat surface used by a painter for this purpose.

the set of colors on such a board or surface.

the range of colors used by a particular artist.

the variety of techniques or range of any art: a lush but uneven musical palette.

the complete range of colors made available by a computer graphics card, from which a user or program may choose those to be displayed.

(in ancient Egyptian art) a somewhat flattish slate object of various shapes, carved with commemorative scenes or motifs or, especially in the smaller pieces, containing a recessed area probably for holding eye makeup and often used as a votive offering.

Also pallette. Armor. a small plate defending the front of the armpit when the arm is lifted; gusset.

Origin of palette

1615–25; < French, Middle French < Italian paletta, diminutive of pala shovel < Latin pāla; see -ette

Related formspal·ette·like, adjective

Can be confusedpalate palette pallet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for palette

Contemporary Examples of palette

Jagged walls of rock, a palette of blacks and greys, loom over us.
Want to Write a Book? Go to Iceland
Adam LeBor
May 26, 2014
Then when we were in Big Sur, Michael changed her palette to different shades of green.
Kate Bosworth Is Back and Crazy in Love
Erin Cunningham
November 5, 2013
The palette was black, silver, gray, and a blue shadow -- perfect for a night club, but not exactly summery.
Iris Van Herpen Spring/Summer 2014: Sonic Youth
Liza Foreman
October 1, 2013
The palette was gentle and pretty, focusing on rose pinks, lavenders, dusky mauve, mint, faun and pale lemon.
Burberry Prorsum Spring/ Summer 2014
Tom Sykes
September 16, 2013
His palette was black and white, with a bit of murky gray mixed in.
France’s Next Generation of Designers: Cédric Charlier, Nicolas Andreas Taralis, Anthony Vaccarello
Robin Givhan
September 26, 2012

Historical Examples of palette

In our rides around the Palette I saw Wahb's tracks once again.
A Woman Tenderfoot
Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
I had laid my palette on the floor, and was standing with my hands in my pockets.
Southern Lights and Shadows
Various
He had taken up his palette and was shuffling about in front of his picture.
His Masterpiece
Emile Zola
He came to open the door himself, holding his palette and brushes.
His Masterpiece
Emile Zola
He brandished his palette and brushes aloft, in his clenched fists.
His Masterpiece
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for palette

palette

noun

Also: pallet a flat piece of wood, plastic, etc, used by artists as a surface on which to mix their paints

the range of colours characteristic of a particular artist, painting, or school of paintinga restricted palette

the available range of colours or patterns that can be displayed by a computer on a visual display unit

either of the plates of metal attached by a strap to the cuirass in a suit of armour to protect the armpits

Word Origin for palette

C17: from French, diminutive of pale shovel, from Latin pala spade

confusable

Avoid confusion with palate, pallet 1

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

Word Origin and History for palette

1620s, "flat thin tablet used by an artist to lay and mix colors," from French palette, from Old French palete "small shovel, blade" (13c.) diminutive of pale "shovel, blade," from Latin pala "spade, shoulder blade," probably from PIE *pak-slo-, from root *pag- (see pact). Transferred sense of "colors used by a particular artist" is from 1882.