Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Melanotype \Me*lan"o*type\, n. [Gr. me`las, -anos, black +
   -type.] (Photog.)
   A positive picture produced with sensitized collodion on a
   smooth surface of black varnish, coating a thin plate of
   iron; also, the process of making such a picture. [Written
   also {melainotype}.]