autochrome
|au-to-chrome|
🇺🇸
/ˈɔːtoʊkroʊm/
🇬🇧
/ˈɔːtəʊkrəʊm/
early self-colored photograph
Etymology
'autochrome' originates from French, specifically the word 'autochrome', formed from Greek elements 'autos' meaning 'self' and 'chroma' meaning 'color'.
'autochrome' was coined in French in the early 1900s for the Lumière brothers' color process and was borrowed into English with the same form and meaning.
Initially, it referred specifically to the Lumière brothers' patented color plate process and the plates produced by it; over time the term has also been used more generally for early color transparency images from that era.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a color photographic process invented by the Lumière brothers in the early 20th century (and the resulting color transparency or plate).
The museum's collection includes several autochromes taken in the 1910s.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/24 07:16