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polychrome

[pol-ee-krohm]
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adjective
  1. being of many or various colors.
  2. decorated or executed in many colors, as a statue, vase, or mural.
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verb (used with object), pol·y·chromed, pol·y·chrom·ing.
  1. to paint in many or various colors.
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noun
  1. a polychrome object or work.
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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. 2018

Related Words

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

Examples from the Web for polychrome

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • "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
  1. having various or changing colours; polychromatic
  2. made with or decorated in various colours
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noun
  1. a work of art or artefact in many colours
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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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper