What is "camouflage"

1917, noun, verb, and adjective, from French camoufler, Parisian slang, "to disguise," from Italian camuffare "to disguise," which is of uncertain origin, perhaps a contraction of capo muffare "to muffle the head." Probably altered by influence of French camouflet "puff of smoke," on the notion of "blow smoke in someone's face." The British navy in World War I called it dazzle-painting.\n\nSince the war started the POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY has published photographs of big British and French field pieces covered with shrubbery, railway trains "painted out" of the landscape, and all kinds of devices to hide the guns, trains, and the roads from the eyes of enemy aircraft.\n

\nUntil recently there was no one word in any language to explain this war trick. Sometimes a whole paragraph was required to explain this military practice. Hereafter one word, a French word, will save all this needless writing and reading. Camouflage is the new word, and it means "fooling the enemy."

["Popular Science Monthly," August 1917]

n. 1 A disguise or cover up. 2 The act of disguise. 3 (context military English) The use of natural or artificial material on personnel, objects, or tactical positions with the aim of confusing, misleading, or evading the enemy.(JP 1-02 Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms). 4 (context textiles English) A pattern on clothing consisting of irregularly shaped patches that are either greenish/brownish, brownish/whitish, or bluish/whitish, as used by ground combat forces. 5 (context biology English) Resemblance of an organism to its surroundings for avoiding detection vb. To hide or disguise something by cover uping it up or changing the way it looks.

1. n. an outward semblance that misrepresents the true nature of something; "the theatrical notion of disguise is always associated with catastrophe in his stories" [syn: disguise]

2. fabric dyed with splotches of green and brown and black and tan; intended to make the wearer of a garment made of this fabric hard to distinguish from the background [syn: camo]

3. device or stratagem for concealment or deceit

4. the act of concealing the identity of something by modifying its appearance; "he is a master of disguise" [syn: disguise]

5. v. disguise by camouflaging; exploit the natural surroundings to disguise something; "The troops camoflaged themselves before they went into enemy territory"

Camouflage is a 2004 science fiction novel by Joe Haldeman. It won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award in 2004 and the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2005.

Parts of the novel were originally serialized in Analog Science Fiction and Fact (March, April and May, 2004).

Camouflage is a German new wave trio consisting of lead singer Marcus Meyn (b. May 2, 1966), Heiko Maile and Oliver Kreyssig. Their only Billboard Hot 100 hit was " The Great Commandment" which climbed to No. 59 in 1988, and spent three weeks at No. 1 on the US dance chart. They also had two additional minor dance hits in 1989.

Camouflage is an album released by Acoustic Ladyland in 2004 on Babel Label.

Camouflage is a United States television game show originally produced in 1961–62 and revived in 1980.

Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see ( crypsis), or by disguising them as something else ( mimesis). Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier, and the leaf-mimic katydid's wings. A third approach, motion dazzle, confuses the observer with a conspicuous pattern, making the object visible but momentarily harder to locate. The majority of camouflage methods aim for crypsis, often through a general resemblance to the background, high contrast disruptive coloration, eliminating shadow, and countershading. In the open ocean, where there is no background, the principal methods of camouflage are transparency, silvering, and countershading, while the ability to produce light is among other things used for counter-illumination on the undersides of cephalopods such as squid. Some animals, such as chameleons and octopuses, are capable of actively changing their skin pattern and colours, whether for camouflage or for signalling.

Military camouflage was spurred by the increasing range and accuracy of firearms in the 19th century. In particular the replacement of the inaccurate musket with the rifle made personal concealment in battle a survival skill. In the 20th century, military camouflage developed rapidly, especially during the First World War. On land, artists such as André Mare designed camouflage schemes and observation posts disguised as trees. At sea, merchant ships and troop carriers were painted in dazzle patterns that were highly visible, but designed to confuse enemy submarines as to the target's speed, range, and heading. During and after the Second World War, a variety of camouflage schemes were used for aircraft and for ground vehicles in different theatres of war. The use of radar since the mid-20th century has largely made camouflage for fixed-wing military aircraft obsolete.

Non-military use of camouflage includes making cell telephone towers less obtrusive and helping hunters to approach wary game animals. Patterns derived from military camouflage are frequently used in fashion clothing, exploiting their strong designs and sometimes their symbolism. Camouflage themes recur in modern art, and both figuratively and literally in science fiction and works of literature.

Camouflage is a method of avoiding detection by mimicking the surrounding environment, and it may refer to:

• Military camouflage of uniforms, vehicles or other equipment including

:* Aircraft camouflage

:* Ship camouflage

Camouflage may also refer to:

In music:

• Camoflauge, American rapper
• Camouflage (band), a German synthpop band
• Camouflage (Acoustic Ladyland album)
• Camouflage (Merzbow album)
• Camouflage (Rod Stewart album)
• Camouflage (Rufus album)
• Camouflage (Sonny Condell album)
• Camouflage (Brad Paisley song), a song by Brad Paisley from This Is Country Music
• Camouflage (Stan Ridgway song) a song by Stan Ridgway from The Big Heat
• "Camouflage", a song by Brandy from her album Human
• "Camouflage", a song by Third Eye Blind from their album Blue
• "Camouflage", a song by Selena Gomez from her second album Revival

In other media:

• Camouflage (2001 film), a 2001 comedy starring Leslie Nielsen
• Camouflage (1977 film), a 1977 Polish film
• Camouflage (1944 film), a 1944 American animated short film
• Camouflage (novel), a novel by Joe Haldeman
• Camouflage (game show), a 1961–1962 American TV show, revived in 1980
• Camouflage (2007 game show), an American TV word game show

Camouflage is a studio album released by Rod Stewart on 18 June 1984 (see 1984 in music). It was Stewart’s 13th studio album and was released on Warner Bros. Records (WEA 925 095-1). Three singles came from this album. They were " Infatuation", "Some Guys Have All the Luck", and a cover of the Free hit "All Right Now". The album marked a reunion of sorts between Stewart and Jeff Beck, who plays guitar on several tracks, as the two had been members of the influential 1960s group The Jeff Beck Group.

Camouflage is a 2001 comedy film/ action film starring Leslie Nielsen and Lochlyn Munro.

Camouflage is a studio album by Japanese noise musician Merzbow. It was released on January 14, 2009 by the Brazilian label Essence Music. It was released in a standard edition and a boxset edition with a DTS 5.1 surround sound version of the album. Camouflage is the second Merzbow album released by Essence.

Camouflage is the debut solo album by Irish musician Sonny Condell. It was released in 1977 in Ireland by Mulligan Music.

Camouflage is a television game show airing on GSN. Hosted by Roger Lodge, and billed as "the hidden word game where the answer is always right in front of you", Camouflage originally aired for 40 episodes from July 2 to 27, 2007. The show is a word game, with contestants searching for a hidden word or phrase in a string of jumbled letters. The show is produced by Enjoy the Ride Productions in association with McB Entertainment.

Originally, two shows aired per night at 7:00 and 7:30 PM Eastern time. However, on July 30 the second run was removed and replaced by Lingo while the airings moved to weeknights at 1:30 AM Eastern. On January 5, 2009, Wheel of Fortune took over its time slot.

Camouflage is the tenth studio album by funk band Rufus (billed as Rufus with Chaka Khan), released on the MCA Records label in 1981. Camouflage peaked at #15 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and stalled at #98 on Pop. The album includes the singles "Sharing the Love" (US R&B 8, US Pop #91) and "Better Together" (US R&B #66, US Dance #56).

Following the release of Camouflage, Chaka Khan recorded her third, fourth and fifth solo albums What Cha' Gonna Do For Me (1981), Echoes of an Era (1982) and Chaka Khan (1982) and Rufus recorded their third album without Khan, Seal in Red (1983), before they reunited for one final album together later in 1983, the double live/studio set Stompin' at the Savoy – Live.

Camouflage is a 1944 American animated short film. It was produced by the First Motion Picture Unit, and was intended to train the United States Military in the use of camouflage against air-raids.

In the short, a chameleon explains the basics of camouflage to a group of airmen following an air raid by Japanese planes.

"Camouflage" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Brad Paisley. It was released in October 2011 as the fourth and final single from his album This Is Country Music. Paisley co-wrote the song with Chris DuBois and Kelley Lovelace.

Camouflage is a 1977 Polish drama film directed by Krzysztof Zanussi. The film was selected as the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 50th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

"Camouflage" is a 1986 Stan Ridgway song from the album The Big Heat. Despite not charting in the United States, the song was a top 5 European hit, peaking at #2 in Ireland and #4 in the United Kingdom.