melanism

mel·a·nism
M3E1L1A1N1I1S1M3
/ˈmɛlənɪzəm/

noun

Congenital abundance or excess of melanin pigmentation in the skin, hair, feathers and/or eyes, more than is typical for the species.

Similar
melanosis
Opposite
albinismalbinoism
OriginFrench mélanisme →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nounmelanism (countable and uncountable, plural melanisms)

plural melanisms

  1. countableuncountableCongenital abundance or excess of melanin pigmentation in the skin, hair, feathers and/or eyes, more than is typical for the species.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
albinismalbinoism

nouna condition characterized by abnormal deposits of melanin (especially in the skin)

Similar
melanosis
Broader
skin diseasedisease of the skinskin disorder
Also see
melanosis

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Frenchmélanisme
  2. Englishmelanism

From French mélanisme; by surface analysis, melan- + -ism.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan melanisme
  • melanismecongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Chinese Mandarin 黑變病 /黑变病
  • 黑變病 /黑变病 (hēibiànbìng)congenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Danish melanisme
  • melanismecongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Dutch melanisme
  • melanismecongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Esperanto melanismo
  • melanismocongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Finnish melanismi
  • melanismicongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
French mélanisme
  • mélanismecongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
German Melanismus
  • Melanismuscongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Hungarian melanizmus
  • melanizmuscongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Irish meilineacht
  • meilineachtcongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Italian melanismo
  • melanismocongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Korean 흑색증
  • 흑색증 (heuksaekjeung)congenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Norwegian Bokmål melanisme
  • melanismecongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Polish melanizm
  • melanizmcongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Portuguese melanismo
  • melanismocongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Russian мелани́зм
  • мелани́зм (melanízm)congenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Spanish melanismo
  • melanismocongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Swedish melanism
  • melanismcongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Welsh melanedd
  • melaneddcongenital excess of melanin pigmentation
Cite this entry
APA

melanism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/melanism

MLA

“melanism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/melanism. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “melanism,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/melanism.

Source: melanism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.