alizarin

noun

aliz·​a·​rin ə-ˈli-zə-rən How to pronounce alizarin (audio)
1
: an orange or red crystalline compound C14H8O4 formerly prepared from madder and now made synthetically and used especially to dye Turkey reds and in making red pigments
2
: any of various acid, mordant, and solvent dyes derived like alizarin proper from anthraquinone

Examples of alizarin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The palette is the same—yellow ochre, cadmium orange, alizarin crimson, burnt sienna—and the scenes are the same. —Teju Cole, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French alizarin, later alizarine, from alizari "madder" (borrowed from Modern Greek alizári, alteration —by dissimilation and addition of a prothetic vowel— of rizári, from ríza "root" —going back to Greek rhíza— + -ari, diminutive suffix) + -in, -ine -in entry 1, -ine entry 2 — more at root entry 1

Note: The name was introduced by the French chemists Pierre Jean Robiquet (1780-1840) and Jean Jacques Colin (1784-1865) in "Sur un nouveau principe immédiat des végétaux (l'alizarin) obtenu de la garance," Journal de pharmacie et des sciences accessoires, 12e Année, no. 7 (juillet, 1826), p. 411. — This etymology was suggested by Arnald Steiger in "Alizari 'Farberröte, Krapp'," Vox Romanica, Band 21 (1962), pp. 315-17. The generally accepted earlier etymology, not well founded, saw the word alizari as a loan from Arabic al-'aṣāra "the juice." It appears to have been first proposed by L. Marcel Devic in Dictionnaire étymologique des mots français d'origine orientale (Paris, 1876).

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of alizarin was in 1827

Dictionary Entries Near alizarin

alizari

alizarin

alizarin crimson

See More Nearby Entries 

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“Alizarin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alizarin. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

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Kids Definition

alizarin

noun
aliz·​a·​rin ə-ˈliz-ə-rən How to pronounce alizarin (audio)
: a compound of orange or red crystals that is used as a red dye and in making red pigments

Medical Definition

alizarin

noun
aliz·​a·​rin ə-ˈliz-ə-rən How to pronounce alizarin (audio)
variants also alizarine
-rən, -ˌrēn How to pronounce alizarin (audio)
1
: an orange or red crystalline compound C14H8O4 formerly prepared from madder and now made synthetically from anthraquinone that was formerly used in dyeing but is now used more in making red pigments
2
: any of a group of dyes that are similar to alizarin in dyeing properties or derivation

More from Merriam-Webster on alizarin

Britannica English: Translation of alizarin for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about alizarin

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