Watercolors

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A method of creating artwork using pigments dissolved in water that results in vibrant visuals and expressive techniques
2. A type of artistic medium where colors derived from soluble pigments suspended in water are used to create transparent layering effects
3. A type of paint consisting of pigments mixed with water to produce translucent colors

Etymology: "Watercolors" is the plural of "watercolor", and the plural is the form most people actually use, since a set of paints comes in many pans or tubes. The singular is the older-looking part of the story: it joins "water", from Old English "wæter", to "color", which reached English through Old French "color" from Latin "color", a word of Italic origin traced back to an ancient root meaning something like hue or covering. The pairing is transparent. Water is the medium that carries the pigment, and color is the pigment itself. The compound is plain rather than legendary. Its two halves were already common English words, and the combined term describes a painting technique in which pigments are suspended in water and applied thinly, letting the paper's white show through. Nothing in the record points to a coiner or a famous first use, so the meaning of the word is best understood simply as the sum of its parts.

Synonyms: paints, colors