Having had the color removed or faded; no longer having its original color.
From de- (meaning 'remove') + colored (from Latin coloratus). The prefix de- became productive in English to indicate reversal or removal of a state, combining with 'colored' to mean the opposite of coloring.
This word shows how English speakers instinctively understand prefixes—we can create new words by adding 'de-' to almost any adjective to mean its opposite, similar to how 'unplug' reverses 'plug.' This productive pattern allows speakers to generate countless new words without memorizing them all.
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