Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
celluloid - 4 dictionary results

cel⋅lu⋅loid

  [sel-yuh-loid]
Use celluloid in a Sentence
–noun
1. a tough, highly flammable substance consisting essentially of cellulose nitrate and camphor, used in the manufacture of motion-picture and x-ray film and other products.
2. motion-picture film.
–adjective
3. Informal. of or involving motion pictures.
Origin:
former trademark; cellul(ose) + -oid
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To celluloid
cel·lu·loid   (sěl'yə-loid')   
n.  
  1. A colorless flammable material made from nitrocellulose and camphor and used to make photographic film.
    1. Motion-picture film: "a strange, anachronistic sight: theater pieces transferred to celluloid" (David Ansen).
    2. The cinema; motion pictures: "There are no heroes but in celluloid" (Charles Langbridge Morgan).
adj.  
  1. Made of or using a material made from nitrocellulose and camphor.
  2. Of or portrayed on film or in motion pictures.
  3. Artificial; synthetic: a novel with flat, celluloid characters.

[Originally a trademark.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Celluloid

Cel"lu*loid`\ (s[e^]l"[-u]*loid), n. [Cellulose + -oid.] A substance composed essentially of gun cotton and camphor, and when pure resembling ivory in texture and color, but variously colored to imitate coral, tortoise shell, amber, malachite, etc. It is used in the manufacture of jewelry and many small articles, as combs, brushes, collars, and cuffs; -- originally called xylonite.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

celluloid 
1871, trademark name (reg. U.S.), coined by U.S. inventor John Wesley Hyatt (1837-1900) from L. cellula dim. of cella (see cell) + -oid, from Gk. -o-eides "a form, shape" (comb. form). Abbreviated form cell "sheet of celluloid" is from 1933.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see celluloid on Thesaurus | Reference
>