dye
n. C / Un. a substance used to change the color of something like hair, cloth, or paper. It is usually a liquid that soaks into the material to make the color last a long time.
n. a natural or synthetic substance used to add a permanent or semi-permanent color to materials. It functions by being absorbed into the substrate rather than remaining on the surface.
She used a blue dye to change the color of her old jeans.
The factory uses organic vegetable dye to ensure that the clothing production process remains environmentally friendly.
Artisans in the region still harvest local indigo plants to produce the deep blue dye that has characterized their traditional textiles for centuries.
From Middle English deye, from Old English dēah, dēag (“color, hue, dye”), from Proto-West Germanic daugu (“colour, shade”), from daugan (“to conceal, be dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, raise dust, camouflage”). Cognates Cognate with Old High German tougan (“dark, secretive”), tougal (“dark, hidden, covert”), Old English dēagol, dīegle (“dark, hidden, secret”), Old English dohs, dox (“dusky, dark”). See dusk.
Fom Middle English deien, from Old English dēagian, from the noun.
Countable when referring to specific types or varieties of coloring agents; uncountable when referring to the substance in general.
He wants to die his hairHe wants to dye his hairLearners often confuse the spelling of 'dye' (coloring) with 'die' (to stop living).