mordant

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mordant

mordant [Fr.,=biting], substance used in dyeing to fix certain dyes (mordant dyes) in cloth. Either the mordant (if it is colloidal) or a colloid produced by the mordant adheres to the fiber, attracting and fixing the colloidal mordant dye (see colloid ); the insoluble, colored precipitate that is formed is called a lake . The chemical compounds used as mordants are either acidic or basic. Acid mordants (e.g., tannic acid) are employed with basic dyes; basic mordants (e.g., alum, chrome alum, and certain salts of aluminum, chromium, copper, iron, potassium, and tin) are employed with acid dyes. Cloth to be dyed may be treated first with the mordant and then with the dye, or the mordant and dye may be applied together. The vividness of certain dyes that ordinarily do not require the use of a mordant may be markedly increased when one is employed.

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"mordant." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 27 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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mordant

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Â© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

mordant biting. XV. — (O)F., prp. of mordre bite:- Rom. *mordere, for L. mordēre.

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T. F. HOAD. "mordant." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "mordant." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (November 27, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mordant.html

T. F. HOAD. "mordant." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved November 27, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mordant.html

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mordant

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | © The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

mor·dant / ˈmôrdnt/ • adj. (esp. of humor) having or showing a sharp or critical quality; biting: a mordant sense of humor. • n. a substance, typically an inorganic oxide, that combines with a dye or stain and thereby fixes it in a material. ∎ an adhesive compound for fixing gold leaf. ∎ a corrosive liquid used to etch the lines on a printing plate. • v. [tr.] impregnate or treat (a fabric) with a mordant. DERIVATIVES: mor·dan·cy / -dnsē/ n. mor·dant·ly adv.

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