celluloid
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cel·lu·loid
(sĕl′yə-loid′)n.
1. A colorless flammable material made from nitrocellulose and camphor and used to make photographic film.
2.
a. Motion-picture film: "a strange, anachronistic sight: theater pieces transferred to celluloid" (David Ansen).
b. The cinema; motion pictures: "There are no heroes but in celluloid" (Charles Langbridge Morgan).
adj.
1. Made of or using a material made from nitrocellulose and camphor.
2. Of or portrayed on film or in motion pictures.
3. Artificial; synthetic: a novel with flat, celluloid characters.
[Originally a trademark.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
celluloid
(ˈsɛljʊˌlɔɪd)n
1. (Elements & Compounds) a flammable thermoplastic material consisting of cellulose nitrate mixed with a plasticizer, usually camphor: used in sheets, rods, and tubes for making a wide range of articles
2. (Film)
a. a cellulose derivative used for coating film
b. one of the transparent sheets on which the constituent drawings of an animated film are prepared
c. a transparent sheet used as an overlay in artwork
d. cinema film
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
cel•lu•loid
(ˈsɛl yəˌlɔɪd)n.
1. a tough, flammable thermoplastic consisting of nitrocellulose and camphor, formerly used as a base for motion-picture film.
2. motion-picture film: captured the drama on celluloid.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Celluloid
One of the first synthetic plastics (1869), celluloid was made from cellulose nitrate and camphor. In the early part of the twentieth century, it was widely used for combs, hairbrush handles, harness decorations, washable col lars, and toys, but because of its flammability has since been replaced by less flammable plastics.
1001 Words and Phrases You Never Knew You Didn’t Know by W.R. Runyan Copyright © 2011 by W.R. Runyan
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. |  celluloid - highly flammable substance made from cellulose nitrate and camphor; used in e.g. motion-picture and X-ray film; its use has decreased with the development of nonflammable thermoplasticsthermoplastic, thermoplastic resin - a material that softens when heated and hardens again when cooled camphor - a resin obtained from the camphor tree; used in making celluloid and liniment cellulose nitrate, guncotton, nitrocellulose, nitrocotton - a nitric acid ester; used in lacquers and explosives |
| 2. |  celluloid - a medium that disseminates moving pictures; "theater pieces transferred to celluloid"; "this story would be good cinema"; "film coverage of sporting events"artistic creation, artistic production, art - the creation of beautiful or significant things; "art does not need to be innovative to be good"; "I was never any good at art"; "he said that architecture is the art of wasting space beautifully" business enterprise, commercial enterprise, business - the activity of providing goods and services involving financial and commercial and industrial aspects; "computers are now widely used in business" MacGuffin, McGuffin - (film) a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot; "the McGuffin was a key element of Alfred Hitchcock's films" medium - a means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information silver screen - the film industry | |
| Adj. | 1. | celluloid - artificial as if portrayed in a film; "a novel with flat celluloid characters" artificial, unreal - contrived by art rather than nature; "artificial flowers"; "artificial flavoring"; "an artificial diamond"; "artificial fibers"; "artificial sweeteners" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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