Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A substance used to color materials.
  • noun A color imparted by dyeing.
  • intransitive verb To color (a material), especially by soaking in a coloring solution.
  • intransitive verb To take on or impart color.
  • idiom (of the deepest dye) Of the most extreme sort.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Coloring matter in solution; a coloring liquor.
  • noun Color; hue; tint; tinge.
  • noun An obsolete spelling of die.
  • noun See basic color.
  • To fix a color or colors in the substance of by immersion in a properly prepared bath; impregnate with coloring matter held in solution.
  • To overspread with color, as by effusion; tinge or stain in general.
  • An obsolete spelling of die.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Color produced by dyeing.
  • noun Material used for dyeing; a dyestuff.
  • transitive verb To stain; to color; to give a new and permanent color to, as by the application of dyestuffs.
  • transitive verb Fig. to dye firmly; to imbue thoroughly.
  • noun Same as die, a lot.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Alternative spelling of die.
  • noun A colourant, especially one that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is applied.
  • verb transitive to colour with dye

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb color with dye
  • noun a usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English deie, from Old English dēag, dēah.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English deie, from Old English dēag ("color, hue, dye"), from Proto-Germanic *daugō (“colour, shade”), from *dauganan, *dug- (“to conceal, be dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dheuk-, *dhouk- (“to be hidden”), from Proto-Indo-European *dhūw- (“to smoke, raise dust, camouflage”). Cognate with Old High German tougan ("dark, secretive"), tougal ("dark, hidden, covert"), Old English dēagol, dīegle ("dark, hidden, secret"), Old English dohs, dox ("dusky, dark"). See dusk.

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Examples

  • • To be able to live to God, whilft We five, and. to dye to God, when we dye* TTiefe, and. many fueh like, are the effe&s, and biefled confequences of this, fo tar as it profpers.

    Soul-prosperity, in several sermons 1683

  • By this letter I am convinced that the dye is absolutely cast, with respect to him, and that no attempts on my part to bring about a reconciliation would be either prudent or successful.

    The Coquette, or, The History of Eliza Wharton: A Novel Founded on Fact 1797

  • A dye is injected into the child's vein and then a special film is taken to see if the disease has spread to the bones.

    Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma - Diagnosis and Treatment 2010

  • Too bad they didn't, because I suspect pubic hair dye is a product idea that's come a bit late to the market.

    Pubic Hair Dye aka TBTAM 2008

  • HSG - that's short for hysterosalpingogram, a study in which dye is injected through the uterus into the fallopian tubes to see if they are blocked or open.

    Treating Infertility by Flushing the Tubes aka TBTAM 2008

  • I have come across soap felting, however, I have read some articles where the dye from the felt caused staining on the skin.

    Sampler Soaps = Perfect Gifts Anne-Marie 2007

  • He was initially set to have an MRI exam Thursday, but the Cubs decided to instead schedule an MRI arthrogram, a test in which dye is injected into the problem area to provide a more detailed look. ...

    USATODAY.com 2007

  • On it she writes that the only thing she recommends colloidal silver for is as "a gray skin dye -- it is safe, effective, and permanent when used for that purpose."

    - Boing Boing 2007

  • On this wise he abode years and years, till it fortuned one day that he received cloth to dye from a man of wrath and sold it and spent the proceeds.

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • The use of Henna as a dye is known even in Enland.

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

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