What does particolored mean?
Particolored means having more than one color, particularly when differently colored areas occupy distinct parts of an object, animal, garment, or design. The word is a relatively formal synonym for multicolored, but it often suggests an organized division into colored parts rather than a general mixture of colors. A bird may have particolored plumage, while a costume or patterned cloth may be described as particolored when its sections have contrasting hues. The term is especially associated with literary description, natural history, and other contexts in which visual detail matters. It is also useful where a more specific word is needed: multicolored may simply indicate the presence of several colors, whereas particolored can imply that the colors belong to visibly different parts. In American English the word is normally spelled particolored; particoloured is the standard British variant.
adjectiveHaving more than one color, especially with different colors appearing in distinct parts.
- Having different colors in distinct parts; multicolored.
"The bird's particolored plumage made it easy to spot among the flock."
"Her particolored dress shifted from deep blue to green across the fabric."
"Naturalists described the beetle's particolored shell, noting its contrasting bands."
Particolored is color by assignment: one color for one part, another for another.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does particolored come from?
English borrowed an early 16th-century French expression meaning “diversely colored.” Its French element parti conveyed the idea of division or variety and was combined with colored, a word based on Latin color. The underlying sense of division is reflected in related Latin-derived English words such as part, portion, partition, and proportion.
How particolored is actually used
Particolored is literary, descriptive, and somewhat formal. It is more characteristic of writing, particularly literary or natural-history contexts, than of everyday speech.
Easily confused with particolored
Variegated specifically suggests an irregular mixture of colors, often in patches or streaks, whereas particolored more generally means differently colored in distinct parts.