pigment

Noun

• a substance used as a coating to protect or decorate a surface (especially a mixture of pigment suspended in a liquid); dries to form a hard coating
  • artists use `paint' and `pigment' interchangeably
    

• any substance whose presence in plant or animal tissues produces a characteristic color

• dry coloring material (especially a powder to be mixed with a liquid to produce paint, etc.)

Verb

• color or dye with a pigment
  • pigment a photograph
    

• acquire pigment; become colored or imbued