daguerreotype

IPA/dəˈɡerətaɪp/
IPA/dəˈɡerətaɪp/

daguerreotype — noun

  • daguerreotypesingular
  • daguerreotypesplural

1. An early type of photograph produced by treating a silver-coated copper plate wi

1.nounC1
Definition

An early type of photograph produced by treating a silver-coated copper plate with light and chemicals, creating a single, highly detailed image — the first widely used photographic method, popular in the mid-1800s.

Example

The museum keeps a daguerreotype of the city's founder in a glass case.

daguerreotype displayed in a museum

Last year, a daguerreotype of Abraham Lincoln sold for a very high price.

collectible value; auction context

Common collocations
  • early daguerreotype
  • rare daguerreotype
  • original daguerreotype
  • daguerreotype portrait
  • daguerreotype of [person]
Synonyms
  • photograph

    the general modern term; daguerreotype is a specific early kind of photograph

  • tintype

    another metal-based early photo process, but made on iron rather than silver-coated copper

Usage Note

Always countable when referring to a single image ('a daguerreotype', 'three daguerreotypes'). Also used uncountably for the process itself ('Daguerreotype spread across Europe in the 1840s').

Common Mistakes

He bought an old daguerrotype at the market.
He bought an old daguerreotype at the market.
The correct spelling is d-a-g-u-e-r-r-e-o-t-y-p-e, not 'daguerrotype'.
She made two copies by scanning the daguerreotype.
She took a photo of the daguerreotype to preserve the image.
Daguerreotypes have no negative, so you cannot make copies like a normal photograph.

Word family

  • daguerreotypist
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Daguerreotypes, tintypes, and modern photographs are all photographic images, but they differ in materials and process. A daguerreotype is made on a silver-coated copper plate and gives a single, mirror-like image with no negative — each one is unique. A tintype, from the late 1800s, is made on a thin iron sheet and is less detailed but more durable. A modern print is created from a negative or digital file, so many copies can be made. While 'daguerreotype' and 'tintype' refer to specific historical processes, 'photograph' is the general term for any image made by a camera.

photograph ↗tintype ↗print ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a daguerreotype of [someone]

Etymology

FrenchGreekEnglish

The word 'daguerreotype' comes from French, named after Louis Daguerre (1787–1851), the French artist who created the process in 1839. The ending '-type' comes from the Greek word 'typos', meaning 'impression' or 'mark'.