color
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English[edit]
| Picture dictionary | |
|---|---|
|
.png)
Alternative forms[edit]
- colour (British, Canadian, Commonwealth) (see the usage notes below)
Etymology[edit]
Middle English colo(u)r, from Anglo-Norman colur, from Old French colour, color, from Latin color, from Old Latin colos "covering", from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to cover, conceal”). Akin to Latin cēlō (“I hide, conceal”). Displaced Middle English blee (“color”), from Old English blēo. More at blee.
In the US, the spelling color is used to match the spelling of the word's Latin etymon, and to make all derivatives consistent (colorimeter, colorize, colorless, etc). Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, the spelling colour has been retained.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (UK) enPR: kŭl'ə(r), IPA: /ˈkʌl.ə(ɹ)/, X-SAMPA: /"kVl.@(r)/
- (US) enPR: kŭl'ər, IPA: /ˈkʌl.ɚ/, X-SAMPA: /"kVl.@`/
-
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ʌlə(ɹ)
Noun[edit]
color (countable and uncountable; plural colors) (American)
- (uncountable) The spectral composition of visible light
- Humans and birds can perceive color.
- (countable) A particular set of visible spectral compositions, perceived or named as a class; blee.
- Most languages have names for the colors black, white, red, and green.
- (uncountable) Hue as opposed to achromatic colors (black, white and grays).
- He referred to the white flag as one "drained of all color".
- (uncountable) Human skin tone, especially as an indicator of race or ethnicity.
- Color has been a sensitive issue in many societies.
- (figuratively) Interest, especially in a selective area.
- a bit of local color
- (heraldry) Any of the standard dark tinctures used in a coat of arms, including azure, gules, sable, and vert. Contrast with metal.
- (in the plural) A standard or banner.
- The loss of their colors destroyed the regiment's morale.
- The system of color television.
- This film is broadcast in color.
- (in the plural) An award for sporting achievement, particularly within a school or university.
- He was awarded colors for his football.
- In corporate finance, details on sales, profit margins, or other financial figures, especially while reviewing quarterly results when an officer of a company is speaking to investment analysts.
- Could you give me some color with regards to which products made up the mix of revenue for this quarter?
- (physics) A property of quarks, with three values called red, green, and blue, which they can exchange by passing gluons.
- (typography) The relative lightness or darkness of a mass of written or printed text on a page.
- (snooker) Any of the colored balls excluding the reds.
- A front or facade: an ostensible truth actually false.
- An appearance of right or authority.
- Under color of law, he managed to bilk taxpayers of millions of dollars.
- (medicine) Skin color noted as: normal, jaundice, cyanotic, flush, mottled, pale, or ashen as part of the skin signs assessment.
Usage notes[edit]
The late Anglo-Norman colour, which is the standard UK spelling, has been the usual spelling in Britain since the 14th century and was chosen by Dr. Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language (1755) along with other Anglo-Norman spellings such as favour, honour, etc. The Latin spelling color was occasionally used from the 15th century onward, mainly due to Latin influence; it was lemmatized by Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), along with favor, honor, etc., and is currently the standard US spelling.
In Canada, colour is preferred, but color is not unknown; in Australia, -our endings are the standard, although -or endings had some currency in the past and are still sporadically found in some regions.
Synonyms[edit]
- (spectral composition of visible light): blee
- (particular set named as a class): blee, hue
- (hue, as opposed to achromatic colours): hue, shade, blee
- (human skin tone as an indicator of race or ethnicity): colour of one’s skin, complexion, blee, ethnicity, race
- (interest, especially in a selective area): interest
- (dark tincture): stain
- (standard or banner): banner, standard
- (colour television): colour television
Derived terms[edit]
terms derived from color (noun)
Translations[edit]
spectral composition of visible light
|
|
particular set of the visible spectrum
|
|
hue as opposed to achromatic colours
human skin tone, especially as an indicator of race or ethnicity
interest, especially in a selective area
any of the standard dark tinctures used in a coat of arms
standard or banner (colours)
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
Adjective[edit]
color (not comparable) (US)
- Conveying color, as opposed to shades of gray.
- Color television and movies were considered a great improvement over black and white.
Translations[edit]
conveying color
Verb[edit]
color (third-person singular simple present colors, present participle coloring, simple past and past participle colored) (US)
- To give something color.
- We could color the walls red.
- (intransitive) To apply colors to the areas within the boundaries of a line drawing using colored markers or crayons.
- My kindergartener loves to color.
- (of a face) To become red through increased blood flow.
- Her face colored as she realised her mistake.
- To affect without completely changing.
- That interpretation certainly colors my perception of the book.
- (informal) To attribute a quality to.
- Colour me confused.
- (mathematics) To assign colors to the vertices of (a graph) or the regions of (a map) so that no two adjacent ones have the same color.
- Can this graph be two-colored?
- You can color any map with four colors.
Synonyms[edit]
- (give something color) dye, paint, stain, shade, tinge, tint
- (apply colors within boundaries of a line drawing)
- (of a face, become red) blush
- (affect without completely changing) affect, influence
- (attribute a quality to) call
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
give something color
|
|
draw using crayons
become red through increased blood flow
affect without completely changing
mathematics: assign distinct colors to the vertices or regions of
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
Color (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Color (disambiguation)
Colors on Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons: Colors
Asturian[edit]
Noun[edit]
color m (plural colores)
- color, colour
Catalan[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin color.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
color m (plural colors)
See also[edit]
- (basic colors) color; blanc, blau, gris, groc, lila, marró, negre, porpra, roig, rosa, taronja, verd, vermell, violat (Category: ca:Colors)
Italian[edit]
Noun[edit]
color m (invariable)
Anagrams[edit]
Latin[edit]
Noun[edit]
color (genitive colōris); m, third declension
- color, (UK) colour; shade
- pigment
- complexion
- outward appearance
Inflection[edit]
| Number | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | color | colōrēs |
| genitive | colōris | colōrum |
| dative | colōrī | colōribus |
| accusative | colōrem | colōrēs |
| ablative | colōre | colōribus |
| vocative | color | colōrēs |
Derived terms[edit]
Occitan[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- coulour (Provence)
Etymology[edit]
Latin color.
Noun[edit]
color f (plural colors)
Old French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Latin color
Noun[edit]
color f (oblique plural colors, nominative singular color, nominative plural colors)
Descendants[edit]
Old Provençal[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Latin color
Noun[edit]
color f (oblique plural colors, nominative singular color, nominative plural colors)
Descendants[edit]
Spanish[edit]
| Picture dictionary | |
|---|---|
|
Etymology[edit]
From Latin colōre, singular ablative of color.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
color m (plural colores)
- color, colour, hue
- rouge (cosmetics)
- pretext, motive, reason
- character
- side, party, faction
- race, ethnicity
- (poker) flush
Related terms[edit]
- colorado
- colorar
- colorear
- colorir
- descolorar
- incoloro
- colorante
- coloración
- colorete
- colorido
- colorín
See also[edit]
- (basic colors) color; amarillo, azul, blanco, gris, morado, naranja, negro, marrón, rojo, verde (Category: es:Colors)
Anagrams[edit]
Categories:
- Visual dictionary
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Old Latin
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- American English forms
- en:Heraldry
- en:Physics
- en:Typography
- en:Snooker
- en:Medicine
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English verbs
- English informal terms
- en:Mathematics
- 1000 English basic words
- Asturian nouns
- Catalan terms derived from Latin
- Catalan nouns
- ca:Colors
- ca:Materials
- ca:Medicine
- ca:People
- Italian nouns
- Italian apocopic forms
- Latin nouns
- Occitan terms derived from Latin
- Occitan nouns
- Occitan countable nouns
- Old French terms derived from Latin
- Old French nouns
- Old French feminine nouns
- Old Provençal terms derived from Latin
- Old Provençal nouns
- Old Provençal feminine nouns
- Spanish terms derived from Latin
- Spanish nouns
- es:Colors
- es:Vision
