pastel
UK /ˈpæstl̩/ · US /pæsˈtɛl/ noun
Forms pastels pasteles pastille
- noun Any of several subdued tints of colors, usually associated with pink, peach, yellow, green, blue, and lavender.
- noun (art) A drawing made with any of those colors.
- noun A type of dried paste used to make crayons.
- noun A crayon made from such a paste.
- noun Woad. “Wool was dyed in the pastel vat.”
- noun A traditional dish in various Latin American countries and in Indonesia, resembling a tamale, pasty, or calzone.
- noun A Filipino stew made with vegetables, sausages, and chicken or other meat in a creamy sauce.
Etymology
Borrowed from French pastel, from Italian pastello (“pastel”), from Medieval Latin pastellum (“dough, paste”), from Latin pasta (“dough, paste”), ultimately from Ancient Greek πάστη (pástē, “dough, paste”). Doublet of pastegh, pastiglia, pastila, pastilla, and pastille.
Borrowed from Spanish pastel, ultimately the same word as Etymology 1.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A crayon made of a paste composed of a color ground with gum water. [Sometimes incorrectly written pastil.] "Charming heads in pastel." W. Black.
- noun A plant affording a blue dye; the woad (Isatis tinctoria); also, the dye itself.
Etymology [F.; cf. It. pastello. Cf. Pastil.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pastel”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details