What does "daguerreotype" mean?
An early type of photograph created by exposing a silver surface which has previously been exposed to either iodine vapor or iodine and bromine vapors; such a photograph.
Daguerreotype
/dəˈɡɛɚ.(i.)oʊˌtaɪp/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An early type of photograph created by exposing a silver surface which has previously been exposed to either iodine vapor or iodine and bromine vapors; such a photograph.
- Grammar: daguerreotype is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: capture, daguerreotype image, daguerreotype process, depict.
- Usage evidence: The Daguerreotype process involved combining metal particles and chemicals on a silver-covered piece of copper to reflect, or give back, images of light. This reflective process was able to produce sharp, colorless pictures.
How to use "daguerreotype"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "daguerreotype" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 An early type of photograph created by exposing a silver surface which has previously been exposed to either iodine vapor or iodine and bromine vapors; such a photograph.
"The awakening of science to this new way of seeing the cosmos began with Johann Ritter in 1801. By 1815, scientists found that Ritter's “chemical rays” [ultraviolet rays] darkened not just silver chloride but also many other kinds of metallic salts. Between 1826 and 1837, Nicéphore Niépce, credited with taking the first successful photograph, in 1827, and Louis Daguerre, the most famous photographic innovator of his day, found that silver iodide was especially light sensitive, and they used this discovery as the basis for their early work, which even then had begun to gain international notice. By 1842, others found that when sunlight hit a gelatin emulsion containing silver iodide, soon to be called a daguerreotype plate, it induced a photochemical reaction. Practical photography was born."
- 2 a photograph made by an early photographic process; the image was produced on a silver plate sensitized to iodine and developed in mercury vapor wordnet
- 3 The process of making such photographs.
- 4 A faithful or exact representation or description. figuratively, obsolete
Verb
- 1 To make a photograph using this process, to make a daguerreotype (of). intransitive, transitive
- 2 To describe or represent exactly or faithfully; depict. figuratively, obsolete, transitive
"[H]e scanned my countenance with a pair of fierce, blood-shot eyes that I knew would daguerreotype my appearance indellibly^([sic]) and faithfully upon his mind."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The Daguerreotype process involved combining metal particles and chemicals on a silver-covered piece of copper to reflect, or give back, images of light. This reflective process was able to produce sharp, colorless pictures."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "daguerreotype"?
Common synonyms include: capture, daguerreotype image, daguerreotype process, depict, image, photograph.
How do you use "daguerreotype" in a sentence?
The Daguerreotype process involved combining metal particles and chemicals on a silver-covered piece of copper to reflect, or give back, images of light. This reflective process was able to produce sharp, colorless pictures.
How do you pronounce "daguerreotype"?
Pronounced /dəˈɡɛɚ.(i.)oʊˌtaɪp/.
Etymology
From French daguerréotype. Named after French artist Louis Daguerre (1787–1851) who announced the process in 1839. Daguerre developed the process after some years of collaborations with French chemist Nicéphore Niépce.