polychrome

[pol-ee-krohm]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR polychrome ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

being of many or various colors.

decorated or executed in many colors, as a statue, vase, or mural.

verb (used with object), pol·y·chromed, pol·y·chrom·ing.

to paint in many or various colors.

noun

a polychrome object or work.

Origin of polychrome

1795–1805; earlier polychrom < German < Greek polýchrōmos many-colored. See poly-, -chrome

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

Related Words for polychrome

spotted, motley, variegated, mottled, checkered, dappled, kaleidoscopic, multicolored, piebald, polychromic, varicolored, versicolor, particolored, pied, prismatic

Examples from the Web for polychrome

Historical Examples of polychrome

The screen fluttered for a moment with polychrome colors and cleared.
Cubs of the Wolf
Raymond F. Jones
The principle seems to be that of polychrome painting, also applied in sculpture.
Museum of Antiquity
L. W. Yaggy
"All right," said Button-Bright; but Polychrome didn't know whether it was all right or not.
The Road to Oz
L. Frank Baum
"So am I," said Polychrome, bending gracefully to pat Toto's head.
The Road to Oz
L. Frank Baum
The local Gallo-Romans had used the polychrome lava as decoration.
How France Built Her Cathedrals
Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly

British Dictionary definitions for polychrome

polychrome

adjective

having various or changing colours; polychromatic

made with or decorated in various colours

noun

a work of art or artefact in many colours

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 polychrome

adj.

"having many colors," 1816, from French polychrome, from Latinized form of Greek polykhromos "many-colored" (see poly- + chrome). As a noun from 1800. Related: Polychromic; polychromatic; polychromate.