One Picture Is Different From the Other
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
picture
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
a visual representation of a person, object, or scene, as a painting, drawing, photograph, etc.: I carry a picture of my grandchild in my wallet.
any visible image, however produced: pictures reflected in a pool of water.
a mental image: a clear picture of how he had looked that day.
a particular image or reality as portrayed in an account or description; depiction; version.
a tableau, as in theatrical representation.
- a movie: He signed a three-picture deal to star in the new franchise.
- pictures, Older Use. movies collectively, as an art; cinema: So, you want to be in pictures?
a person, thing, group, or scene regarded as resembling a work of pictorial art in beauty, fineness of appearance, etc.: She was a picture in her new blue dress.
the image or perfect likeness of someone else: He is the picture of his father.
a visible or concrete embodiment of some quality or condition: the picture of health.
a situation or set of circumstances: the economic picture.
the image on a computer monitor, the viewing screen of a television set, or a motion-picture screen.
verb (used with object), pic·tured, pic·tur·ing.
to represent in a picture or pictorially, as by painting or drawing.
to form a mental picture of; imagine: He couldn't picture himself doing such a thing.
to depict in words; describe graphically: He pictured Rome so vividly that you half-believed you were there.
to present or create as a setting; portray: His book pictured the world of the future.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Which of the following words describes "sky blue"?
Origin of picture
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin pictūra "the act of painting, a painting," equivalent to pict(us) (past participle of pingere "to paint" ) + -ūra noun suffix; see paint, -ure
OTHER WORDS FROM picture
pic·tur·a·ble, adjective pic·tur·a·ble·ness, noun pic·tur·a·bly, adverb pic·tur·er, noun
mis·pic·ture, verb (used with object), mis·pic·tured, mis·pic·tur·ing. self-pic·tured, adjective un·pic·tured, adjective
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH picture
picture , pitcher
Words nearby picture
pictography, Pictor, pictorial, pictorialism, pictorialize, picture, picture book, picture card, picture disc, picturegoer, picture hat
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
MORE ABOUT PICTURE
Where doespicturecome from?
A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words. But what about the word picture? We're not going to write a thousand words on picture—although we could. Believe us when we say we could. So, here's a briefer word picture (see what we did there?) on the origin of this versatile word.
In its most general sense, a picture is a visual representation of something, especially in the form of a painting, drawing, photograph, or the like. A picture can also refer to a mental image, among other senses. One meaning of picture, as a verb, is "to represent something in a picture or pictorially"—pictorial being a related adjective form variously used to refer to pictures.
The word picture entered English around 1375–1425, borrowed directly from the Latin word pictūra, "the act of painting, a painting." The word is based on pict(us), the past participle of the verb pingere, meaning "to paint." The verb could also mean "to draw, embroider, represent," among other senses. The second part of pictūra is -ūra, a noun suffix represented as -ure in English. See our entry at –ure to learn more about this suffix.
Dig deeper
The meaning of the word picture has been very stable in English. Just as it originally did in the late 1300s, a picture can still refer to a drawing or painting— whether it's your kid's crayon-scrawled family portrait on your fridge or Leonardo DaVinci's Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Both are masterpieces, as far as we're concerned. Please note, though, that when referring to formal or professional works, we often use the name of the medium (painting, photograph, film), with picture referring to more informal or amateur creations.
But picture has also been remarkably adaptable, readily lending itself to images created by new technologies: photography, cinema, TV, and all the pictures we take on our smartphones and post on social media.
The word movie—it's easy to forget in an age of Netflix streaming and viral TikTok videos—is shortened from the phrase moving picture. And what are digital images composed of? Tiny pixels. That word is based on pix, a variant of pics, a common shortening of picture. A picture, we might say today, is worth (many) thousands of pixels.
Did you know ... ?
As we noted in the previous section, picture ultimately comes from the Latin verb pingere. Picture is not the only word English gets from this root, however.
Pingere evolved into the Old French peindre, whose past participle was peint, source of the English paint and related forms. That means a painting, etymologically speaking, is a picture.
Did you know these words are also rooted in the Latin pingere, "to paint"?
- depiction
- pigment
- pimento
- pinto
How to use picture in a sentence
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Exclude the blue states, and the economic picture shifts dramatically.
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However, a complete picture of their clinical effect remains unclear.
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It also seems like the legacy of the Olympic Games is completely left out of the picture.
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Smith shared a picture of him setting next to Hubert—a monumental occasion considering the two hadn't sat down with each other in 27 years.
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Those pictures can really boost your memory of this material.
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The same picture emerges from middle class men in the U.S., Canada, and the Nordic countries.
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That was accomplished by cops such as the one whose picture was clutched so tightly by his widow on Sunday.
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There is just no way of selling this picture with an innocent defense like, "she just asked for a snap."
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I noticed a picture of her daughter, who was my classmate, and out of curiosity visited her page.
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We want to give the families and the other cops, too, as clear a picture as we can.
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She looked from the picture to her daughter, with a frightful glare, in their before mild aspect.
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Each picture bore a label, giving a true description of the once-honoured gem.
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And sure enough when Sunday came, and the pencil was restored to him, he promptly showed nurse his picture.
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Mr. Agnew saw the picture, recognised its merit, and wrote a cheque for the full amount asked.
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A furious controversy concerning this picture had arisen among art critics.
British Dictionary definitions for picture
noun
- a visual representation of something, such as a person or scene, produced on a surface, as in a photograph, painting, etc
- (as modifier) picture gallery; picture postcard Related adjective: pictorial
a mental image or impression a clear picture of events
a verbal description, esp one that is vivid
a situation considered as an observable scene the political picture
a person or thing that bears a close resemblance to another he was the picture of his father
a person, scene, etc, considered as typifying a particular state or quality the picture of despair
a beautiful person or scene you'll look a picture
a complete image on a television screen, comprising two interlaced fields
- a motion picture; film
- (as modifier) picture theatre
the pictures mainly British and Australian a cinema or film show
get the picture informal to understand a situation
in the picture informed about a given situation
verb (tr)
to visualize or imagine
to describe or depict, esp vividly
(often passive) to put in a picture or make a picture of they were pictured sitting on the rocks
Word Origin for picture
C15: from Latin pictūra painting, from pingere to paint
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with picture
In addition to the idiom beginning with picture
- picture is worth a thousand words, one
also see:
- get the message (picture)
- in the picture
- pretty as a picture
- take a picture
- the picture
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
One Picture Is Different From the Other
Source: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/picture