Chatoyant Meaning
What does it mean?
Why did I choose this name for my second publication? Good question. Chatoyant, or chatoyance usually has to do with the color reflections in gemstone or the color variations in wood.
It is pronounced ‘shuh-toi-uhnt’
The etymology from Wikitionary says
‘From French chatoyant, present participle of chatoyer (“to iridescence, like a cat’s eye”), from chat (“cat”, because of the reflective qualities of a cat’s eye).’
Merriam-Webster says, ‘having a changeable luster or color with an undulating narrow band of white light’.
Wood is sometimes described as chatoyant, or having the property of chatoyancy. It all has to do with color variations with an object be that a cat’s eye or a nice piece of curly maple.
The reference to a cat’s is it. Have you looked into a cat’s eye, ever? Or looked closely at a gemstone? Chatoyancy is the property that makes flat surfaces appear three dimensional. It is also found in wood grain where a ripple effect makes the wood appear as if it is not flat.
Aside from all that I think it is a beautiful sounding word. I had chosen a different word or phrase actually for this publication but that was taken already. I like the term.
What I plan for this publication is to publish articles about things I find beautiful in the world around me. That sounds like just aesthetics and it mostly is. This publication will also focus on emerging technologies and their affect on us. That includes blockchain and some crypto projects or profiles of NFT artists that are special or unique.
So welcome to Chatoyant.
Thanks for reading
