Depigment

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To remove or diminish the pigment from something, resulting in a lighter or colorless appearance
2. The process of causing a reduction in coloration or the natural pigment of skin, hair, or other tissues
3. Describing the action that leads to the loss of color or diminishment of melanin, particularly in biological contexts

Etymology: "Depigment" is a straightforward formation: the prefix "de-", meaning "down" or "away" or, in technical usage, "removal of," attached to "pigment." "Pigment" itself comes from Latin "pigmentum," meaning paint or coloring matter, a noun built from "pingere," to paint, which also gave English "paint" through Old French. The prefix does the work here. Adding "de-" to a noun for a substance turns the word into a verb meaning to strip that substance away, so "depigment" describes removing or reducing pigment rather than applying it. In biology and medicine it is used for the process by which colour is lost from skin, hair, or other tissue, whether through disease, injury, or treatment that reduces melanin.

Synonyms: bleach, decolorize