teintes

Teintes is the plural of teinte, a French term used to describe the color or hue of an object, as well as the overall color impression, shade, or tint. In common usage, teintes refer to the color family (for example, red teinte, blue teinte) and to the palette of colors available for a project. In art and design, teintes are discussed in terms of hue, value (brightness) and saturation; a teinte can change in brightness without changing its fundamental hue.

In practical terms, artists and designers describe variations such as teintes claires (light tints), teintes foncées (dark shades) and teintes ternes (muted tones). Mixing white with a hue yields a tint (teinte claire), mixing black yields a shade (teinte sombre), and adding gray yields a neutralized teinte.

Teintes are used in many fields: painting, printmaking, interior design, fashion and branding. They help convey mood—warm teintes (yellows, oranges, reds) tend to feel energetic, while cool teintes (blues, greens, violets) convey calm or formality. The term also appears in discussions of skin color, where teinte de peau is used to describe complexion, as well as in color matching, where precise teinte names appear in swatches or nuanciers.

Etymology: teinte derives from the verb teindre (to dye) and shares roots with the idea of coloring or staining. The plural teintes simply refers to multiple hues or color impressions.