Colorant

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Colorant

Colorant (pronunciation: /ˈkʌlərənt/) is a substance that is used to give color to other substances. The term is often used in the context of food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other industries where color is added to products to enhance their appearance or to indicate certain properties.

Etymology

The term "colorant" is derived from the Latin word color, which means "color", and the suffix -ant, which is used to form nouns denoting an agent or instrument.

Types of Colorants

There are several types of colorants, including:

  • Dyes: These are soluble substances that are used to color fabrics and other materials. They are often used in the textile industry.
  • Pigments: These are insoluble substances that are used to color paints, inks, plastics, and other materials. They are often used in the paint and coatings industry.
  • Food coloring: These are substances that are used to color food and beverages. They are often used in the food and beverage industry.
  • Drug coloring: These are substances that are used to color pharmaceutical products. They are often used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Related Terms

  • Color: This is the characteristic of light that is perceived by the human eye.
  • Colorimetry: This is the science and technology used to quantify and describe physically the human color perception.
  • Chromophore: This is the part of a molecule responsible for its color.
  • Hue: This is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically as "the degree to which a stimulus can be described as similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow".

See Also

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