Colouring

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The practice of introducing or adjusting pigments in visual works The method of enriching or transforming the appearance of hues in creative projects The action of applying or changing colors to achieve desired effects in art and design
2. A material applied to alter or enhance the appearance of an object by imparting color ; the act of applying color to an item or surface to change its visual features
3. Any dye, pigment, or tint used to produce color in various materials ; the procedure of introducing color to something for aesthetic or functional purposes

Etymology: Colouring is the British spelling of "coloring," and the word's history runs through the noun "color." English borrowed "color" from Latin "color," which meant hue, tint or complexion. Its ultimate roots lie in the Proto-Indo-European idea of covering or concealing, a sense that survives only in the distant ancestry of the word rather than in its everyday use. The noun "colouring" in the sense of a substance that adds colour to something is built by adding the suffix "-ing" to the verb "colour," which means to apply colour. Compare how "painting" can name either the act or the paint itself. In this case the noun names the material, so a cook might reach for food colouring or a baker for an edible dye.

Synonyms: tinting, hue, shade

Antonyms: bleaching, whitening