pigment

[pig-muhnt]

noun

1. a dry insoluble substance, usually pulverized, which when suspended in a liquid vehicle becomes a paint, ink, etc.

2. a coloring matter or substance.

3. Biology.,  any substance whose presence in the tissues or cells of animals or plants colors them.

verb (used with object)

1. to color; add pigment to.

verb (used without object)

1. to become pigmented; acquire color; develop pigmentation.

   a poor quality of paper that doesn't pigment well.

pigment

/ ˈpɪɡmənt /

noun

1. a substance occurring in plant or animal tissue and producing a characteristic colour, such as chlorophyll in green plants and haemoglobin in red blood

2. any substance used to impart colour

3. a powder that is mixed with a liquid to give a paint, ink, etc

pigment

1. An organic compound that gives a characteristic color to plant or animal tissues and is involved in vital processes. Chlorophyll, which gives a green color to plants, and hemoglobin, which gives blood its red color, are examples of pigments.

2. A substance or material used as coloring.

Other Word Forms

• hyperpigmented adjective
• nonpigmented adjective
• unpigmented adjective
• pigmentary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pigment¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin pigmentum paint, equivalent to pig- (stem of pingere to paint ) + -mentum -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of pigment¹

C14: from Latin pigmentum, from pingere to paint

Example Sentences

In a study published in Cell Stem Cell, scientists tested retinal pigment epithelial stem cells in a phase 1/2a clinical trial.

Read more on Science Daily

While you can’t help but appreciate the cherry red of the deep-sea atolla jellyfish, you will also learn why its unusual pigment persists in the lightless depths.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Yet replicating and studying this pigment in the lab has been extremely challenging -- until now.

Read more on Science Daily

Albinism, which affects an estimated 30,000 people in Tanzania, is a rare genetic condition that reduces melanin - the pigment that gives colour to skin, eyes and hair.

Read more on BBC

Projectors emitted pulses of black-and-white imagery that used data as a pigment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• coloring 
• dye 
• stain 
• tint