eau de nil

English

Alternative forms

• eau de Nil, eau-de-nil, eau-de-Nil

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French eau de nil (literally “water of the Nile”).

Noun

eau de nil (plural eau de nils)

1. A pale bluish green colour.

   eau de nil:  

   • 1968, Alan Burgess, The Word for Love‎^[1], page 241:

     It was a sprawling town of upended concrete boxes tilting pastel rectangles up towards the hot sun: soft blues, prawn reds, pale chocolates, delicate eau de nils, primrose yellows […] .

   • 2000, Ciarán Carson, Fishing for Amber‎^[2], page 143:

     Such colouring! — slate blues, coral pinks, pale amphitrites, the wet cobblestone blue of mussels, frail sea-forget-me-nots, anemone yellows and carmines, emeralds and eau-de-nils!

   • 2009, Debra Adelaide, The Household Guide to Dying‎^[3], page 298:

     He had painted the ceiling and window and doorframes an aqua green, the walls eau-de-nil.

   • 2011, Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight:

     Possibly the mauve one would look better,’ said Letitia, ‘although I have always been told that eau-de-nil is really my colour. By the way, could I make things up to you in some way by having you as my chief bridesmaid?

Adjective

eau de nil

1. Of a pale bluish green colour.

See also

• Nile green (a darker shade)
• Appendix:Colors