colored

Colored is an adjective that denotes something possessing color or something that has been dyed, tinted, or coated. In American English it is also the past participle of color and appears in phrases such as colored pencils or colored glass. The British English equivalent is coloured, using the spelling colour for color.

The term appears in various domains. In art, design, and manufacturing, colored describes dyed materials or pigment-treated surfaces, such as colored paper, colored textiles, or colored glass. In everyday language it can describe lighting, films, or data visualizations (for example, colored lights or color-coded information). In science and technology, colored can appear in terms like colored noise in signal processing or colorized films and photographs; in computing, colored graphs or interfaces use color attributes to convey information.

Historical and sociolinguistic notes. In the United States, the term colored was used as a racial designation in segregated institutions and discourse. In modern usage it is generally considered outdated or offensive when referring to people; contemporary terminology favors racial or ethnic identifiers chosen by individuals or communities, such as Black, African American, or other preferred descriptors.

Etymology and spelling. Colored derives from color with the past participle suffix -ed; regional variation includes the British form coloured. The root color/colour traces back to Latin color through Old French.