cochineal

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Related to cochineal: Cochineal dye

coch·i·neal

(kŏch′ə-nēl′, kŏch′ə-nēl′, kō′chə-, kō′chə-)

1. A red colorant, whose primary constituent is carminic acid, that is made of the dried and pulverized bodies of female cochineal insects and is used to color food and cosmetics.

2. A vivid red.

[French cochenille, from Spanish cochinilla, cochineal insect, probably from Vulgar Latin *coccinella, from feminine diminutive of Latin coccinus, scarlet, from Greek kokkinos, from kokkos, seed, grain, dried female kermes insect (used in making scarlet dye), of unknown origin.]

coch′i·neal′ adj.

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.

cochineal

(ˌkɒtʃɪˈniːl; ˈkɒtʃɪˌniːl)

1. (Animals) Also called: cochineal insect a Mexican homopterous insect, Dactylopius coccus, that feeds on cacti

2. (Cookery) a crimson substance obtained from the crushed bodies of these insects, used for colouring food and for dyeing

3. (Dyeing) a crimson substance obtained from the crushed bodies of these insects, used for colouring food and for dyeing

4. (Colours)

a. the colour of this dye

b. (as adjective): cochineal shoes.

[C16: from Old Spanish cochinilla, from Latin coccineus scarlet-coloured, from coccum cochineal kermes, from Greek kokkos kermes berry]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

coch•i•neal

(ˌkɒtʃ əˈnil, ˌkoʊ tʃə-, ˈkɒtʃ əˌnil, ˈkoʊ tʃə-)

n.

a red dye prepared from the dried bodies of the females of the cochineal insect, Dactylopius coccus, which lives on cactuses of warm regions.

[1575–85; < Middle French cochinille < Sp cochinilla the insect; of obscure orig.]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	cochineal - a red dyestuff consisting of dried bodies of female cochineal insects dye, dyestuff - a usually soluble substance for staining or coloring e.g. fabrics or hair
	2.	cochineal - Mexican red scale insect that feeds on cacti; the source of a red dye cochineal insect, Dactylopius coccus scale insect - small homopterous insect that usually lives and feeds on plants and secretes a protective waxy covering Dactylopius, genus Dactylopius - type genus of the Dactylopiidae

Translations

kilptäikošenill

carmin cochenille

cocciniglia

cochineal

[ˈkɒtʃɪniːl] N → cochinilla f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

cochineal

[ˌkɒtʃɪˈniːl] n (= food colouring) → colorant m rouge

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

cochineal

n (= insect, colouring) → Koschenille f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in classic literature ?

Morrel is utterly ruined; he has lost five ships in two years, has suffered by the bankruptcy of three large houses, and his only hope now is in that very Pharaon which poor Dantes commanded, and which is expected from the Indies with a cargo of cochineal and indigo.

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Cochin (he is named Emile- Adolphe-Lucian), which, when anagrammed, gives Cochineal. Now observe, he's a partner in a druggist's business in the rue des Lombards, the Maison Matifat, which made its fortune by that identical colonial product."

View in context

This natural colorant Carmine is the purified form of a colorant known as cochineal. It is derived from the shell of the female cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus Costa).

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WE Brits have known for years that cochineal, the red colouring used in some foods, comes from crushed bugs.

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Besides, availability of other natural food colors such as cochineal and turmeric are expected to hamper the demand for annatto globally.

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Here we eat honey, an insect product, but little else except for the odd novelty such as chocolate covered ants, cochineal (contains beetles) and tiny ones we know nothing about which lurk in our fruit and vegetables.

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The prickly-pear cactus, imported originally for gardens, natural fencing, and to create a cochineal dye industry, quickly became an invasive species.

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"70,000 female cochineal beetles are boiled and crushed to produce one pound of carmine, a red dye which is used in lipsticks, eyeshadows and nail varnishes.

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SEVENTY thousand female cochineal beetles are boiled and crushed to produce 1lb of carmine, a red dye used in lipsticks, eyeshadows and nail varnishes.

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[ClickPress, Mon Oct 01 2018] The cochineal is an insect from Dactylopius coccus family, from these insects natural food color dyecarminis derived.

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Under Food Colouring for Jellies, Creams, Ices, and Cakes, the books suggests "Boil very slowly in a gill of water, till reduced to one half, twenty grams of cochineal, and the same quantity of alum and cream of tartar finely pounded; strain, and keep in a small phial.

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Brown came from cuttlefish ink; red from crushed bugs called cochineal; white and red were made from lead.