orpiment

O1R1P3I1M3E1N1T1
UK/ˈɔːpɪmənt/US/ˈɔɹpəmənt/

noun

Arsenic trisulphide, occurring naturally in crystals or massive deposits, formerly used as a dye or pigment.

OriginMiddle English orpyment ← Old French orpiment ← Latin auripigmentum →
Scrabble 12
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounorpiment (countable and uncountable, plural orpiments)

plural orpiments · alternative auripigment

  1. countableuncountableArsenic trisulphide, occurring naturally in crystals or massive deposits, formerly used as a dye or pigment.

    Jeremiah found himself indoors, perfecting his Draftsmanship, bending all day over the work-table, grinding and mixing his own Inks,— siftings and splashes ev'rywhere of King's Yellow, Azure, red Orpiment, Indian lake, Verdigris, Indigo, and Umber.

    1997, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 24, in Mason & Dixon, 1st US edition, New York: Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, part One: Latitudes and Departures, page 242

Origin

  1. Latinauripigmentum“orpiment”
  2. Old Frenchorpiment
  3. Middle Englishorpyment
  4. Englishorpiment

From Middle English orpyment, from Old French orpiment, from Latin auripigmentum (“orpiment”), from aurum (“gold”) + pigmentum (“pigment”).

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἀρσενικόν
  • ἀρσενικόν (arsenikón)arsenic trisulphide
Arabic رَهَج أَصْفَر
  • رَهَج أَصْفَر (rahaj ʔaṣfar)arsenic trisulphide
Bulgarian арсенов сулфид
  • арсенов сулфид (arsenov sulfid)arsenic trisulphide
Catalan orpiment
  • orpimentarsenic trisulphide
Chinese Mandarin 雌黃 /雌黄
  • 雌黃 /雌黄 (cíhuáng)arsenic trisulphide
Finnish auripigmentti
  • auripigmenttiarsenic trisulphide
French orpiment
  • orpimentarsenic trisulphide
German Auripigment, Opperment
  • Auripigmentarsenic trisulphide
  • Oppermentarsenic trisulphide
  • gelbes Schwefelarsenikarsenic trisulphide
  • gelbe Arsenblendearsenic trisulphide
  • Rauschgelbarsenic trisulphide
Hindi गेरू
  • गेरू (gerū)arsenic trisulphide
Italian orpimento
  • orpimentoarsenic trisulphide
Japanese 雄黄
  • 雄黄 (yūō)arsenic trisulphide
Latin auripigmentum
  • auripigmentumarsenic trisulphide
Malay artal, hartal
  • artalarsenic trisulphide
  • hartalarsenic trisulphide
  • retalarsenic trisulphide
Persian زرنیخ, اورپیمان
  • زرنیخ (zarnix)arsenic trisulphide
  • اورپیمان (orpimân)arsenic trisulphide
Polish aurypigment
  • aurypigmentarsenic trisulphide
Portuguese auripigmento, ouro-pimenta
  • auripigmentoarsenic trisulphide
  • ouro-pimentaarsenic trisulphide
  • ouro-pigmentoarsenic trisulphide
Punjabi ਹੜਤਾਲ਼
  • ਹੜਤਾਲ਼ (haṛtāḷ)arsenic trisulphide
Russian аурипигме́нт
  • аурипигме́нт (auripigmént)arsenic trisulphide
Spanish oropimente
  • oropimentearsenic trisulphide

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Piermonttemporin
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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