palette
[pal-it]
- 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.
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Origin of palette
1615–25; < French, Middle French < Italian paletta, diminutive of pala shovel < Latin pāla; see -ette
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for palette
Contemporary Examples
Jagged walls of rock, a palette of blacks and greys, loom over us.
Then when we were in Big Sur, Michael changed her palette to different shades of green.
The palette was black, silver, gray, and a blue shadow -- perfect for a night club, but not exactly summery.
The palette was gentle and pretty, focusing on rose pinks, lavenders, dusky mauve, mint, faun and pale lemon.
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 VaccarelloRobin Givhan
September 26, 2012
Historical Examples
In our rides around the Palette I saw Wahb's tracks once again.
A Woman TenderfootGrace Gallatin Seton-Thompson
I had laid my palette on the floor, and was standing with my hands in my pockets.
Southern Lights and ShadowsVarious
He had taken up his palette and was shuffling about in front of his picture.
His MasterpieceEmile Zola
He came to open the door himself, holding his palette and brushes.
His MasterpieceEmile Zola
He brandished his palette and brushes aloft, in his clenched fists.
His MasterpieceEmile Zola
palette
- 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
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Word Origin
C17: from French, diminutive of pale shovel, from Latin pala spade
confusable
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
n.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper