discoloration

Etymology

It is formed from English discolor + -ation,^[1] the noun of action of the verb, which goes back to Old French descolorer, from des- and colorer (“to colour”), from Latin colōrō (“to colour”), from color (“colour”).^[2] The revised OED compares the earlier Medieval Latin discoloratio, recorded from the 13th century in a British source, and Middle French descoloracion, from the second half of the 15th century.^[1] The Shorter Oxford takes it instead from French, now décoloration, or from the medieval Latin noun, formed on the past participle stem of discoloro,^[3] and Etymonline derives it from discolorate, of the early 15th century.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of becoming discoloured, or the state of being discoloured; a loss or change of colour: 1545, in Raynald and Jonas's translation of Roesslin.^[1] Etymonline dates the word to the 1640s,^[2] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged to 1642.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The concrete sense, a discoloured mark or patch, a stain or blemish, followed in 1666.^[1] Johnson (1755) gave both senses, the act of changing the colour or staining, and a change of colour, a stain or dye, quoting Arbuthnot on "spots and discolorations of the skin".^[5]

Timeline

• 1545 – the action of becoming discoloured; loss or change of colour.^[1] Etymonline dates it to the 1640s,^[2] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged to 1642.^[4]
• 1666 – a discoloured mark or patch; a stain.^[1]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of discoloring, or the state of being discolored; a change or loss of color: Years of sunlight caused the discoloration of the curtains.^[4][1]
2. A discolored spot or mark; a stain: a brown discoloration on the ceiling.^[4][1]

Related words

• discolor
• color
• decoloration

Usage notes

The British spelling is discolouration.^[3][2] Dictionary.com also records discolorment for the same thing.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House