celluloid

celluloid

1. a flammable thermoplastic material consisting of cellulose nitrate mixed with a plasticizer, usually camphor: used in sheets, rods, and tubes for making a wide range of articles

2. 

a. a cellulose derivative used for coating film

b. one of the transparent sheets on which the constituent drawings of an animated film are prepared

c. a transparent sheet used as an overlay in artwork

d. cinema film

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

celluloid

A relatively tough thermoplastic material made from plasticized cellulose nitrate with camphor; inflammable, easily molded, readily dyed, not light-stable.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Celluloid

 

a plastic based on cellulose nitrate (pyroxylin). It also contains a plasticizer (dibutyl phthalate, castor oil, petrolatum, or synthetic camphor) and a dye. Celluloid is processed by hot stamping, pressing, and mechanical working. It is used in the manufacture of various products, including plane-table boards, rulers, certain haberdashery goods, and toys. Because Celluloid is highly flammable, there has been a considerable reduction in its use.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.