Colorfast

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A quality of a dye indicating its durability against fading when subjected to washing, sunlight, or various environmental factors
2. Refers to the ability of a textile's color to maintain its appearance without loss during laundering and exposure to elements
3. Describes a fabric or dye that resists fading when washed or exposed to light and other conditions

Etymology: "Colorfast" is a plain compound: "color" joined to "fast" in its old sense of "firmly fixed" or "unable to be moved or removed," the same "fast" found in "steadfast" and "holdfast." A dye that stays fixed in cloth through washing and sunlight is, in that sense, fast. The compound is built from two ordinary English words rather than borrowed, and it has close counterparts in neighboring languages: West Frisian "kleurfêst" and Dutch "kleurvast" carry the same meaning and the same structure, showing that the idea took shape in parallel across the related Low Countries and North Sea languages.

Synonyms: fade-resistant, bleach-resistant

Antonyms: colorbleeding