Colourimetries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A branch of science that measures and quantifies colors in terms of their properties
2. The practice of analyzing color and its variations across different contexts
3. Techniques involving the systematic assessment of color through specific methodologies and instruments

Etymology: Colourimetry is a compound built from "colour" and the suffix "-metry", which means measurement. That suffix comes through Old French "-métrie" and Latin "-metria" from Ancient Greek "-μετρία" (-metría), a form of "métron", meaning a measure. So the word's core idea is literally the measuring of colour, which is why the study of shades sits at its heart. The "-metry" ending is the same one found in "geometry" (measuring earth) and "trigonometry" (measuring triangles), so "colourimetry" belongs to a long family of words where the first element names what is measured. The pattern proved so productive that English could attach it to almost any subject that needed quantifying. "Colourimetries" is simply the plural of "colourimetry", used when referring to several distinct methods or systems for measuring colour.

Synonyms: colorimetry, color measurement