Contrast
Etymology
From Italian "contrastare" and French, from Vulgar Latin "contrastare" (to stand against), from Latin "contra" (against) and "stare" (to stand). It first meant to oppose or resist, then settled into the visual sense of things set against each other.
noun · /KON-trast/
The degree of difference between elements — light against dark, or one color against another.
What it names
The engine of visual drama and legibility: high contrast pops and commands attention, low contrast soothes or muddies, and the word applies from a photograph to a page layout.
Example
Bump up the contrast and the faint pencil lines finally separate from the paper.
Related idea
Contrast is the general difference between elements; chiaroscuro is one dramatic use of it — bold light-and-dark modeling to sculpt form in painting. All chiaroscuro is high contrast, but not all contrast is chiaroscuro.
verb · /kun-TRAST/
To set two things side by side to show their differences, or to differ strikingly from something.
What it names
comparison that highlights difference.
Example
The essay contrasts city life with village life.
Related idea
The visual sense generalized to any pointed difference between things.