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prettygoodwordorpiment (AWR-puh-muhnt) - n., an yellow mineral of arsenic trisulphide (As2S3) formerly used as a pigment.
And you can tell it was a pigment by its name: in Latin, it was auripigmentum, from auri-, gold + pigmentum, pigment -- with some consonants softened and vowels rounded by its journey through Old French. Formerly used because it was one of the few clear, bright-yellow pigments, but its rarity (it only forms around volcanic fumaroles and hot springs as a byproduct of the decay of another arsenic mineral, realgar) and instability, not to mention its toxicity, made it a quick candidate for replacement once artificial dyes were developed. It was also of interest to alchemists, because of its golden color, as a possible route to gold itself -- enough of an interest, it had its own alchemical symbol (
).
And that ends the week of dyes -- back next week with the usual mix.
---L.
And you can tell it was a pigment by its name: in Latin, it was auripigmentum, from auri-, gold + pigmentum, pigment -- with some consonants softened and vowels rounded by its journey through Old French. Formerly used because it was one of the few clear, bright-yellow pigments, but its rarity (it only forms around volcanic fumaroles and hot springs as a byproduct of the decay of another arsenic mineral, realgar) and instability, not to mention its toxicity, made it a quick candidate for replacement once artificial dyes were developed. It was also of interest to alchemists, because of its golden color, as a possible route to gold itself -- enough of an interest, it had its own alchemical symbol (
And that ends the week of dyes -- back next week with the usual mix.
---L.
