# dye

Pronunciation: US say "DY" /daɪ/; UK

## Noun

1. A coloring substance, especially one that bonds to the material it is applied to.
   - Simple: A colored substance used to give cloth, hair, or other things a new color.
   - _The fabric absorbed the dye evenly across its whole surface._
   - _Natural dyes from plants tend to fade faster than synthetic ones._
3. A hue or shade of color of any kind.
   - Simple: A color or shade of any kind.
   - _Wild birds of every dye crowded around the feeder that winter morning._
   - _Beneath the stream, the pebbles showed a deep amber dye that faded as soon as they dried._

## Verb

2. To color something with dye, or in a way that resembles coloring with dye.
   - Simple: To give something a new color by soaking it in colored liquid.
   - _They dye the raw yarn in large vats before weaving it._
   - _Years of sunlight had dyed the old curtains a faded yellow._

## Noun

4. Archaic spelling of die. *(archaic)* — Archaic spelling of die (“a cube used in games of chance”).
   - Simple: Archaic spelling of die. It means the small cube with numbered sides used in games of chance.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3** — From Middle English deye, from Old English dēah, dēag ("color, hue, dye"), from Proto-West Germanic *daugu, from a root meaning "to conceal" or "be dark," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- ("to smoke, raise dust, camouflage"). It is related to Old English dēagol ("dark, hidden, secret").
**Meaning 2** — From Middle English deien, from Old English dēagian, which was formed from the noun dēag ("dye").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dye (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).