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pigmentation

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Etymology and origin of the English word pigmentation

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1866 More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origin
Latin pingō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pingō
French peindre
Italian pingere
Latin pīgmentum
English pigment
English pigmentation
From the same root
Latin dēpingō ← pingō
Latin expingō ← pingō
Latin pictor ← pingō
Latin pictūra ← pingō
Latin pictus ← pingō

Pronunciation

  • /ˌpɪɡmənˈteɪʃ(ə)n/, /ˌpɪɡmenˈteɪʃ(ə)n/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English pigment + -ation,[2][3][4] the Shorter Oxford says after coloration,[4] and Etymonline suggests a French model;[3] the OED compares French pigmentation (1863 or earlier) and Late Latin pigmentātus (“painted”), used by Tertullian.[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged and Dictionary.com derive it from the Late Latin participle with the English suffix -ion.[5][6] Pigment is from Latin pigmentum (“colouring matter, paint”), from the stem of pingō (“to paint”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Coloration or discoloration caused by pigment deposited in the tissues: 1866 in Etymonline,[3] 1867 in the OED and Merriam-Webster Unabridged, in J. King's Causes of Chronic Diseases.[2][5] Dictionary.com dates it to 1865–70.[6]

Semantic evolution

The word began in medicine, and the Shorter Oxford still labels the sense of discoloration as medical.[4][2] It is now used generally of coloration by pigment in plants, animals and people,[2][7] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged notes its special use for an excessive deposit of pigment in body tissues.[5]

Timeline

  • 1866 – coloration or discoloration from pigment deposited in the tissues.[3] The OED's first quotation is from 1867.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The natural coloration of plants, animals or people produced by pigments: The lizard's skin pigmentation changes with the light.[7][2]
  2. The deposition of pigment in tissues, especially an excessive deposit that causes discoloration of the skin.[5][7][2]

Word family

  • hyperpigmentation
  • depigmentation

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Pigmentation.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/pigmentation. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·