Pastel

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpæstl̩/

Definitions

1. A light, soft hue often used to create calming visuals in art
2. A color shade characterized by its light, subdued appearance ; a drawing or painting medium composed of colored pigment pressed into sticks
3. A soft, gentle tint with low saturation ; a tool for artists consisting of powdered pigment bound into a stick used to create artwork

Etymology: The crayon-like sense of "pastel" comes from a mixing material, not a colour. Its ancestor is the Ancient Greek "pástē", meaning "dough" or "paste", which passed into Latin as "pasta" and then into Medieval Latin as "pastellum", a diminutive form that gave a little paste or small dough shape. Italian "pastello" carried the word into art, where it named a stick of pigment mixed with binder and pressed into shape, the sense of drawing with coloured chalk. French took the word as "pastel" and English borrowed it from French, so the artistic material and the soft light colour both trace back to kneaded dough. The same ancient root also produced "pastille", "pastiglia" and "pastila", words for small moulded pieces of paste, which entered English through different routes.

Synonyms: light, soft, faded, pale

Antonyms: bright, vivid, intense