Adjective

white (comparative whiter, superlative whitest)

Positive white

Comparative whiter

Superlative whitest

1. Bright and colourless; reflecting equal quantities of all frequencies of visible light.
2. Of Caucasian race.
3. (of coffee) Containing cream, milk, or creamer.
4. (board games, chess) The standard denomination of the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the white set, no matter what the actual colour.

   The white pieces in this set are in fact made of light green glass.

Antonyms

• (bright and colourless): black
• (of coffee): black

White is a color, the perception which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.

White light can be generated in many ways. The Sun is such a source, electric incandescence is another. Modern light sources are fluorescent lamps and light-emitting diodes. An object that does not alter the color of light reflected from its surface will appear white, compared to the surroundings, unless it has very high specular reflection.

Since white objects such as clouds, snow and flowers appear often in nature, human culture has many references to white, often related to purity and cleanness. The high contrast between white and black is often used to represent opposites. In some cultures, like Chinese, white is considered to be a color that represents death. On the other hand in many cultures white represents purity, freedom, and hygenic purity.