Painted, a. 1. Covered or adorned with paint; portrayed in colors.
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As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean. Coleridge.
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2. (Nat. Hist.) Marked with bright colors; as, the painted turtle; painted bunting.
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Painted beauty (Zoöl.), a handsome American butterfly (Vanessa Huntera), having a variety of bright colors, -- Painted cup (Bot.), any plant of an American genus of herbs (Castilleia) in which the bracts are usually bright-colored and more showy than the flowers. Castilleia coccinea has brilliantly scarlet bracts, and is common in meadows. -- Painted finch. See Nonpareil. -- Painted lady (Zoöl.), a bright-colored butterfly. See Thistle butterfly. -- Painted turtle (Zoöl.), a common American freshwater tortoise (Chrysemys picta), having bright red and yellow markings beneath.
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