cochineal
n. red dye made from the crushed dried bodies of a female cochineal insect and used for food coloring and fabric dye; red scale insect native to Mexico and Central America that subsists on cacti; bright red color adj. of cochineal; from cochineal | ||||
Search Dictionary:
Cochineal definition was found in categories: Language, Idioms & Slang(3) Encyclopedia(1)
Cochineal Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries
| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |
Cochineal
A dyestuff consisting of the dried bodies of females of the Coccus cacti, an insect native in Mexico, Central America, etc., and found on several species of cactus, esp. Opuntia cochinellifera.
A dyestuff consisting of the dried bodies of females of the Coccus cacti, an insect native in Mexico, Central America, etc., and found on several species of cactus, esp. Opuntia cochinellifera.
| WordNet 2.0 |
cochineal
Noun
1. a red dyestuff consisting of dried bodies of female cochineal insects
(hypernym) dye, dyestuff
2. Mexican red scale insect that feeds on cacti; the source of a red dye
(synonym) cochineal insect, Dactylopius coccus
(hypernym) scale insect
(member-holonym) Dactylopius, genus Dactylopius
Noun
1. a red dyestuff consisting of dried bodies of female cochineal insects
(hypernym) dye, dyestuff
2. Mexican red scale insect that feeds on cacti; the source of a red dye
(synonym) cochineal insect, Dactylopius coccus
(hypernym) scale insect
(member-holonym) Dactylopius, genus Dactylopius
| hEnglish - advanced version |
cochineal
cochineal
\coch"i*neal\ (k&obreve;ch"&ibreve;*nēl; 277), [sp. cochinilla, dim. from l. coccineus, coccinus, scarlet, fr. coccum the kermes berry, g. ko`kkos berry, especially the kermes insect, used to dye scarlet, as the cochineal was formerly supposed to be the grain or seed of a plant, and this word was formerly defined to be the grain of the quercus coccifera; but cf. also sp. cochinilla wood louse, dim. of cochina sow, akin to f. cochon pig.] a dyestuff consisting of the dried bodies of females of the coccus cacti, an insect native in mexico, central america, etc., and found on several species of cactus, esp. opuntia cochinellifera.
note: these insects are gathered from the plant, killed by the application of heat, and exposed to the sun to dry. when dried they resemble small, rough berries or seeds, of a brown or purple color, and form the cochineal of the shops, which is used for making carmine, and also as a red dye.
note: cochineal contains as its essential coloring matter carminic acid, a purple red amorphous substance which yields carmine red.
similar words(1)
cochineal fig
cochineal
\coch"i*neal\ (k&obreve;ch"&ibreve;*nēl; 277), [sp. cochinilla, dim. from l. coccineus, coccinus, scarlet, fr. coccum the kermes berry, g. ko`kkos berry, especially the kermes insect, used to dye scarlet, as the cochineal was formerly supposed to be the grain or seed of a plant, and this word was formerly defined to be the grain of the quercus coccifera; but cf. also sp. cochinilla wood louse, dim. of cochina sow, akin to f. cochon pig.] a dyestuff consisting of the dried bodies of females of the coccus cacti, an insect native in mexico, central america, etc., and found on several species of cactus, esp. opuntia cochinellifera.
note: these insects are gathered from the plant, killed by the application of heat, and exposed to the sun to dry. when dried they resemble small, rough berries or seeds, of a brown or purple color, and form the cochineal of the shops, which is used for making carmine, and also as a red dye.
note: cochineal contains as its essential coloring matter carminic acid, a purple red amorphous substance which yields carmine red.
similar words(1)
cochineal fig
Cochineal Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
| Wikipedia English - The Free Encyclopedia |
Cochineal
Cochineal is the name of both crimson or carmine dye and the cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus), a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the dye is derived. There are other species in the genus Dactylopius which can be used to produce cochineal extract, but they are extremely difficult to distinguish from D. coccus, even for expert taxonomists, and the latter scientific name (and the use of the term "cochineal insect") is therefore commonly used when one is actually referring to other biological species; suffice it to say that the reader should be aware that there is more than one cochineal insect. The primary biological distinctions between species are minor differences in host plant preferences, in addition to very different geographic distributions. D. coccus itself is native to tropical and subtropical South America and Mexico.
| See more at Wikipedia.org... |