cosmetic

English

Etymology

From French cosmétique, from Ancient Greek κοσμητική (kosmētikḗ, “the art of dress and ornament”), κοσμητικός (kosmētikós), from κοσμητής (kosmētḗs, “orderer, director, decorator”), from κοσμέω (kosméō, “to order, to arrange, to rule, to adorn, to equip, to dress, to embellish”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɒzˈmɛtɪk/
• IPA^(key): /kɑzˈmɛtɪk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

cosmetic (comparative more cosmetic, superlative most cosmetic)

1. Imparting or improving beauty, particularly the beauty of the complexion.

   a cosmetic preparation

   • (Can we date this quote by Alexander Pope and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     First, robed in white, the nymph intent adores, / With head uncovered, the cosmetic powers.

2. External or superficial; pertaining only to the surface or appearance of something.

   Fortunately, the damage to the house was mostly cosmetic and a bit of paint covered it nicely.

Derived terms

• cosmetic surgery

Related terms

• cosmetics
• cosmos

Translations

relating to improving beauty particularly complexion

• Bulgarian: козметичен (kozmetičen)
• Maori: whakapaipai
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: kosmetyczny (pl)

external or superficial

• Bulgarian: козметичен (kozmetičen)
• Catalan: cosmètic (ca)
• Czech: kosmetický (cs)
• Finnish: kosmeettinen (fi)
• German: kosmetisch (de)
• Hungarian: kozmetikai (hu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kosmetisk

  Nynorsk: kosmetisk

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: powierzchowny (pl) m
• Portuguese: cosmético (pt)
• Russian: космети́ческий (ru) (kosmetíčeskij)
• Spanish: cosmético (es) m, superficial (es)

Noun

cosmetic (plural cosmetics)

1. Any substances applied to enhance the external color or texture of the skin, e.g. lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner; makeup.
2. A feature existing only on the surface.

Synonyms

• (substances enhance external color or texture): beauty products, makeup, product, slap, war paint

Hyponyms

• (substances enhance external color or texture): See also Thesaurus:toiletry

Translations

any substances applied to enhance the external color or texture of the skin

• Bulgarian: козметика (bg) f (kozmetika)
• Catalan: cosmètic (ca) m
• Czech: kosmetika
• Finnish: kosmetiikka (fi)
• French: cosmétique (fr) m, cosmétiques (fr) pl
• German: Kosmetikum m, Kosmetik (de) f, Hautverschönerungsmittel n
• Greek: καλλυντικό (el) n (kallyntikó)
• Hungarian: kozmetikum (hu), szépítőszer
• Latin: offūcia f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: kosmetyk (pl) m
• Portuguese: cosmético (pt) m
• Russian: косме́тика (ru) f (kosmétika)
• Spanish: cosmético (es) m, afeite (es)
• Tagalog: kosmetiko
• Vietnamese: mỹ phẩm
• Volapük: (singular) jönamed, (plural) jönameds, (collective) jönamedem

See also

• makeup

Further reading

• “cosmetic”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “cosmetic”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “cosmetic”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.