n. & v.
n. 1 a variety of a colour, esp. one made lighter by adding white. 2 a tendency towards or admixture of a different colour (red with a blue tint). 3 a faint colour spread over a surface, esp. as a background for printing on. 4 a set of parallel engraved lines to give uniform shading.
v.tr. apply a tint to; colour. tinter n.
[ alt. of earlier tinct f. L tinctus dyeing (as TINGE), perh. infl. by It. tinto ]