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pastel

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pastel¹

  • /ˈpæstl̩/ UK
  • /ˈpæstəl/ UK
  • /pæsˈtɛl/ US

Rhymes with -æstəl, -ɛl

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French pastel, from Italian pastello (“pastel”), from Medieval Latin pastellum (“dough, paste”), from Latin pasta (“dough, paste”), ultimately from Ancient Greek πάστη (pástē, “dough, paste”). Doublet of pastegh, pastiglia, pastila, pastilla, and pastille.

noun pastels · pastille

  1. countable, uncountable Any of several subdued tints of colors, usually associated with pink, peach, yellow, green, blue, and lavender.
  2. countable, uncountable A drawing made with any of those colors.
  3. countable, uncountable A type of dried paste used to make crayons.
  4. countable, uncountable A crayon made from such a paste.
  5. countable, uncountable Woad. Wool was dyed in the pastel vat.

pastel²

  • /pæsˈtɛl/
  • /pɑsˈtɛl/

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Spanish pastel, ultimately the same word as Etymology 1.

noun pastels · pasteles

  1. countable, uncountable A traditional dish in various Latin American countries and in Indonesia, resembling a tamale, pasty, or calzone.
  2. countable, uncountable A Filipino stew made with vegetables, sausages, and chicken or other meat in a creamy sauce.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: light, delicate, cakes, crayons, pies, peach, candy pink, blush, champagne pink, tint, carnation, pinkiness, light blue, summer, starlight blue, spring

Translations

Every language

noun any of several subdued tints of colors

Españolcolor pastel, tono pastel
日本語パステルカラー pasuteru karā
Portuguêspastel
DeutschPastellfarbe
Русскийпасте́ль pastɛ́lʹ

noun drawing made with these colors

中文粉画
Portuguêspastel
Русскийпасте́ль pastɛ́lʹ

noun type of dried paste

中文色素粉末, 粉彩 fěncǎi
Portuguêspastel
Русскийпасте́ль pastɛ́lʹ
Tiếng Việtphấn tiên

noun crayon made from such a paste

한국어파스텔 paseutel
日本語パステル pasuteru
中文蠟筆 /蜡笔 cǎisè làbǐ, 油畫棒 /油画棒, 粉畫兒筆 /粉画儿笔
Portuguêspastel
Françaispastel
Русскийпасте́ль pastɛ́lʹ

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Cite this
MLA

"pastel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pastel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

pastel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pastel

Chicago

"pastel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pastel.

BibTeX
@misc{pastel_2026,
  title = {pastel},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pastel},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}