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

/ pĭg′mənt /

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.

Derived Forms

• ˈpigmentary, adjective

Other Words From

• hyper·pigment·ed adjective
• non·pigment·ed adjective
• un·pigment·ed 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

Wiemann has used the approach to identify pigments in dinosaur eggs.

From Science News For Students

The pigments — chlorophylls, in green plants — absorb light and transfer the energy to a reaction center, where the production of chemical energy for the cell’s use is initiated.

From Quanta Magazine

The pigments needed to absorb light at similar wavelengths to reduce the internal noise.

From Quanta Magazine

It brings together oxygen and a pigment called luciferin to create light.

From Science News For Students

That light is caused by the pigment that gives the corals color.

From Science News For Students

Although the equipment is the same, a tattoo artist uses ink, and we use pigment.

From The Daily Beast

The Daily Pic: Are the YBA's prints about the color of pigment, or the color of money?

From The Daily Beast

Mariamu looks much younger than her years, and yet her white, pigment-free skin has become leathery from the sun.

From The Daily Beast

Had the image been painted on the cloth by a forger, the paint traces of the pigment would have remained on the surface.

From The Daily Beast

They generally occur together, but the pigment is not infrequently present alone.

From Project Gutenberg

The older forms are larger colorless bodies containing granules of brown pigment.

From Project Gutenberg

The figures, besides being outlined by the dots, were decorated all over with the same pigment in dotted transverse belts.

From Project Gutenberg

The walls were coated with fine stucco, white and firm—an evidence of antiquity—and ornamented with bands of a bright red pigment.

From Project Gutenberg

The face of the wall is then rubbed over with a soft brick of the same colour, or the work may be coloured with pigment.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• coloring
• dye
• stain
• tint