Polychrome
/ˈpɒl.i.krəʊm/noun
Colored with many colors or displaying multiple colors.
Did you know?The same Greek root chroma (“color”) also gave us words like chromatic and chrome, while poly- means “many,” making polychrome a perfectly literal ancient construction.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
polukhroōs / polukhroos
“many-colored”
Late Latin
Latin
polychromus
“many-colored”
Middle French
French
polychrome
“many-colored”
18th Century
English
polychrome
“decorated or rendered in many colors”
Modern English
English
polychrome
“having or using several colors”
Explore more surprising origins