Colored substances or materials that give color to paint, dyes, cosmetics, or other products.
From Latin 'pigmentum' (paint color), derived from 'pingere' (to paint). The word describes any substance that produces color when used.
Natural pigments like lapis lazuli blue and red ochre were so valuable in the Middle Ages that they cost more than gold—which is why some medieval paintings are incredibly bright, because artists saved these expensive pigments for the most important figures.
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