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pastel

 - 4 dictionary results

pas⋅tel

1[pa-stel; especially Brit. pas-tl]
–noun
1. a color having a soft, subdued shade.
2. a kind of dried paste made of pigments ground with chalk and compounded with gum water.
3. a chalklike crayon made from such paste.
4. the art of drawing with such crayons.
5. a drawing so made.
6. a short, light prose study or sketch.
–adjective
7. having a soft, subdued shade.
8. drawn with pastels: a pastel portrait.

Origin:
1655–65; < F < It pastello < LL pastellus, var. of L pastillus (see pastille )

pas⋅tel

2[pas-tel]
–noun
1. the woad plant.
2. the dye made from it.

Origin:
1570–80; < MF < Pr < ML pastellum (neut.) woad (orig. woad paste), for LL pastellus (masc.), dim. of pasta paste; change of gender by influence of L glastum woad
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pastel
pas·tel   (pā-stěl')   
n.  
    1. A drawing medium of dried paste made of ground pigments and a water-based binder that is manufactured in crayon form.

    2. A crayon of this material.

    3. A picture or sketch drawn with this type of crayon.

    4. The art or process of drawing with pastels.

    1. A picture or sketch drawn with this type of crayon.

    2. The art or process of drawing with pastels.

  1. A soft delicate hue; a pale color: a room done all in pastels.

  2. A sketchy or brief prose work.

adj.  
  1. Of, relating to, or made of pastel.

  2. Pale and soft in color.


[French, from Italian pastello, material made into a paste, from Late Latin pastellus, woad dye, diminutive of pasta, paste; see paste1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

pastel 
1662, "crayons, chalk-like pigment used in crayons," from Fr. pastel "crayon," from It. pastello "a pastel," lit. "material reduced to a paste," from L.L. pastellus "dye from the leaves of the woad plant," dim. of pasta (see pasta). Meaning "pale or light color" first recorded 1899.
"The soft, wraith-like tints ... are now in fashion again. The modern name for them is 'pastels,' ... for these soft, half-faded tones bear the same relation to real colours as pastels do to oil-paintings." [(London) Daily News, Oct. 21, 1899]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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