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Webster 1913 Edition

Color

Col′or

(kŭl′ẽr)
,
Noun.
[Written also
colour
.]
[OF.
color
,
colur
,
colour
, F.
couleur
, L.
color
; prob. akin to
celare
to conceal (the color taken as that which covers). See
Helmet
.]
1.
A property depending on the relations of light to the eye, by which individual and specific differences in the hues and tints of objects are apprehended in vision;
as, gay
colors
; sad
colors
, etc.
☞ The sensation of color depends upon a peculiar function of the retina or optic nerve, in consequence of which rays of light produce different effects according to the length of their waves or undulations, waves of a certain length producing the sensation of red, shorter waves green, and those still shorter blue, etc. White, or ordinary, light consists of waves of various lengths so blended as to produce no effect of color, and the color of objects depends upon their power to absorb or reflect a greater or less proportion of the rays which fall upon them.
2.
Any hue distinguished from white or black.
3.
The hue or color characteristic of good health and spirits; ruddy complexion.
Give
color
to my pale cheek.
Shakespeare
4.
That which is used to give color; a paint; a pigment;
as, oil
colors
or water
colors
.
5.
That which covers or hides the real character of anything; semblance; excuse; disguise; appearance.
They had let down the boat into the sea, under
color
as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship.
Acts xxvii. 30.
That he should die is worthy policy;
But yet we want a
color
for his death.
Shakespeare
6.
Shade or variety of character; kind; species.
Boys and women are for the most part cattle of this
color
.
Shakespeare
7.
A distinguishing badge, as a flag or similar symbol (usually in the plural);
as, the
colors
or
color
of a ship or regiment; the
colors
of a race horse (that is, of the cap and jacket worn by the jockey)
.
In the United States each regiment of infantry and artillery has two
colors
, one national and one regimental.
Farrow.
8.
(Law)
An apparent right; as where the defendant in trespass gave to the plaintiff an appearance of title, by stating his title specially, thus removing the cause from the jury to the court.
Blackstone.
☞ Color is express when it is averred in the pleading, and implied when it is implied in the pleading.
Body color
.
See under
Body
.
–
Color blindness
,
total or partial inability to distinguish or recognize colors. See
Daltonism
.
–
Complementary color
,
one of two colors so related to each other that when blended together they produce white light; – so called because each color makes up to the other what it lacks to make it white. Artificial or pigment colors, when mixed, produce effects differing from those of the primary colors, in consequence of partial absorption.
–
Of color
(as persons, races, etc.),
not of the white race; – commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed.
–
Primary colors
,
those developed from the solar beam by the prism, viz., red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, which are reduced by some authors to three, – red, green, and violet-blue. These three are sometimes called
fundamental colors
.
–
Subjective color
or
Accidental color
,
a false or spurious color seen in some instances, owing to the persistence of the luminous impression upon the retina, and a gradual change of its character, as where a wheel perfectly white, and with a circumference regularly subdivided, is made to revolve rapidly over a dark object, the teeth of the wheel appear to the eye of different shades of color varying with the rapidity of rotation. See
Accidental colors
, under
Accidental
.

Col′or

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Colored
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Coloring
.]
[F.
colorer
.]
1.
To change or alter the hue or tint of, by dyeing, staining, painting, etc.; to dye; to tinge; to paint; to stain.
The rays, to speak properly, are not
colored
; in them there is nothing else than a certain power and disposition to stir up a sensation of this or that color.
Sir I. Newton.
2.
To change or alter, as if by dyeing or painting; to give a false appearance to; usually, to give a specious appearance to; to cause to appear attractive; to make plausible; to palliate or excuse;
as, the facts were
colored
by his prejudices
.
He
colors
the falsehood of Æneas by an express command from Jupiter to forsake the queen.
Dryden.
3.
To hide.
[Obs.]
That by his fellowship he
color
might
Both his estate and love from skill of any wight.
Spenser.

Col′or

,
Verb.
I.
To acquire color; to turn red, especially in the face; to blush.
–
Col′or-a-ble-ness
,
Noun.
–
Col′or-a-bly
,
adv.
Colorable
and subtle crimes, that seldom are taken within the walk of human justice.
Hooker.

Webster 1828 Edition

Color

COLOR

, n.
1.
In physics, a property inherent in light, which, by a difference in the rays and the laws of refraction, or some other cause, gives to bodies particular appearances to the eye. The principal colors are red, orange, yellow, green blue, indigo and violet. White is not properly a color; as a white body reflects the rays of light without separating them. Black bodies, on the contrary, absorb all the rays, or nearly all, and therefore black is no distinct color. But in common discourse, white and black are denominated colors; and all the colors admit of many shades of difference.
2.
Appearance of a body to the eye, or a quality of sensation, caused by the rays of light; hue; dye; as the color of gold, or of indigo.
3.
A red color; the freshness or appearance of blood in the face.
My cheeks no longer did their color boast.
4.
Appearance to the mind; as, prejudice puts a false color upon objects.
5.
Superficial cover; palliation; that which serves to give an appearance of right; as, their sin admitted no color or excuse.
6.
External appearance; false show; pretense; guise.
Under the color of commending him,
I have access my own love to prefer.
7.
Kind; species; character; complexion.
Boys and women are, for the most part, cattle of this color.
8.
That which is used for coloring; paint; as red lead, ocher, orpiment, cinnabar, or vermilion, &c.
9.
Colors, with a plural termination, in the military art, a flag, ensign or standard, borne in an army or fleet. [See Flag.]
10.
In law, color in pleading is when the defendant in assize or trespass, gives to the plaintiff a color or appearance of title, by stating his title specially; thus removing the cause from the jury to the court.
Water-colors are such as are used in painting with gum-water or size, without being mixed with oil.

COLOR

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To change or alter the external appearance of a body or substance; to dye; to tinge; to paint; to stain; as, to color cloth. Generally, to color is to change from white to some other color.
2.
To give a specious appearance; to set in a fair light; to palliate; to excuse.
He colors the falsehood of Aeneas by an express command of Jupiter to forsake the queen.
3.
To make plausible; to exaggerate in representation.
To color a strangers good, is when a freeman allows a foreigner to enter goods at the custom house in his name, to avoid the aliens duty.

COLOR

,
Verb.
I.
To blush.

Definition 2024

color

color

See also: colôr

English

Picture dictionary

Click on labels in the image

Alternative forms

Noun

color ‎(countable and uncountable, plural colors) (American)

  1. (uncountable) The spectral composition of visible light
    Humans and birds can perceive color.
  2. (countable) A particular set of visible spectral compositions, perceived or named as a class.
    Most languages have names for the colors black, white, red, and green.
  3. (uncountable) Hue as opposed to achromatic colors (black, white and grays).
    He referred to the white flag as one "drained of all color".
  4. (uncountable) Human skin tone, especially as an indicator of race or ethnicity.
    Color has been a sensitive issue in many societies.
  5. (figuratively) Interest, especially in a selective area.
    a bit of local color
  6. (heraldry) Any of the standard dark tinctures used in a coat of arms, including azure, gules, sable, and vert. Contrast with metal.
  7. (in the plural) A standard or banner.
    The loss of their colors destroyed the regiment's morale.
  8. (in the plural) The flag of a nation or team.
    The colors were raised over the new territory.
  9. (in the plural) Gang insignia.
    Both of the perpetrators were wearing colors.
  10. The system of color television.
    This film is broadcast in color.
  11. (in the plural) An award for sporting achievement, particularly within a school or university.
    He was awarded colors for his football.
  12. (military, in the plural) The morning ceremony of raising the flag.
  13. 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?
  14. (physics) A property of quarks, with three values called red, green, and blue, which they can exchange by passing gluons.
  15. (typography) The relative lightness or darkness of a mass of written or printed text on a page.
  16. (snooker) Any of the colored balls excluding the reds.
  17. A front or facade: an ostensible truth actually false.
    • (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  18. An appearance of right or authority.
    Under color of law, he managed to bilk taxpayers of millions of dollars.
  19. (medicine) Skin color noted as: normal, jaundiced, cyanotic, flush, mottled, pale, or ashen as part of the skin signs assessment.

Usage notes

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. In New Zealand, -our endings are the standard.

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

color ‎(not comparable) (US)

  1. Conveying color, as opposed to shades of gray.
    Color television and movies were considered a great improvement over black and white.

Translations

Verb

color ‎(third-person singular simple present colors, present participle coloring, simple past and past participle colored) (US)

  1. To give something color.
    We could color the walls red.
  2. (intransitive) To apply colors to the areas within the boundaries of a line drawing using colored markers or crayons.
    My kindergartener loves to color.
  3. (of a face) To become red through increased blood flow.
    Her face colored as she realized her mistake.
  4. To affect without completely changing.
    That interpretation certainly colors my perception of the book.
  5. (informal) To attribute a quality to.
    Color me confused.
  6. (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

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Colors in English · colors, colours (layout · text)
     red      green      yellow      cream      white
     crimson      magenta      teal      lime      pink
     indigo      blue      orange      gray, grey      violet
     black      purple      brown      azure, sky blue      cyan

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin color, colōrem.

Noun

color m ‎(plural colores)

  1. color, colour

Catalan

Etymology

From Old Provençal color, from Latin color, colōrem.

Pronunciation

  • (Balearic) IPA(key): /koˈlo/
  • (Central) IPA(key): /kuˈlo/
  • (Valencian) IPA(key): /koˈloɾ/
  • Rhymes: -o(ɾ)

Noun

color m ‎(plural colors)

  1. color, colour

See also

Colors in Catalan · colors (layout · text)
     roig, vermell      verd      groc      crema      blanc
     carmesí      magenta      xarxet      verd lima      rosa
     indi      blau      taronja      gris      violat
     negre      lila, porpra      marró      atzur      cian

Italian

Noun

color m ‎(invariable)

  1. apocopic form of colore

Anagrams

Latin

Etymology

From Old Latin colos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ‎(“to hide, conceal”).

Pronunciation

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈko.lor/, [ˈkɔ.ɫɔr]

Noun

color m ‎(genitive colōris); third declension

  1. (UK) colour, shade; (US) color
  2. pigment
  3. complexion
  4. outward appearance

Inflection

Third declension.

Case Singular Plural
nominative color colōrēs
genitive colōris colōrum
dative colōrī colōribus
accusative colōrem colōrēs
ablative colōre colōribus
vocative color colōrēs

Derived terms

Descendants

References

Occitan

Alternative forms

  • coulour (Provence)

Etymology

From Old Provençal color, from Latin color, colōrem.

Noun

color f (plural colors)

  1. color

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin color, colōrem ‎(“color or colour”)

Noun

color f ‎(oblique plural colors, nominative singular color, nominative plural colors)

  1. color, colour

Descendants

Old Portuguese

Noun

color f

  1. Alternative form of coor

Descendants

See also

Colors in Old Portuguese · coores, colores (layout · text)
     vermello      verde      amarelo      ?      branco
     {{{crimson}}}      ?      ?      ?      rosa
     ?      azur      ?      gris      ?
     negro, preto      cardẽo      castanno      ?      ?

Old Provençal

Etymology

From Latin color, colōrem

Noun

color f ‎(oblique plural colors, nominative singular color, nominative plural colors)

  1. color, colour

Descendants

Spanish

Picture dictionary

Click on labels in the image

Etymology

From Latin colōre, singular ablative of color.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ko̞ˈlo̞ɾ]
  • see also: calor, colar
  • Rhymes: -oɾ

Noun

color m ‎(plural colores)

  1. color, colour, hue
  2. rouge (cosmetics)
  3. pretext, motive, reason
  4. character
  5. side, party, faction
  6. race, ethnicity
  7. (poker) flush

Derived terms

See also

Colors in Spanish · colores (layout · text)
     rojo      verde      amarillo      crema      blanco
     carmín, carmesí, carmesín, cremesín, cremesino      magenta      azul-petróleo      lima      rosa
     añil      azul      naranja,
anaranjado 		     gris      violeta
     negro      morado      marrón      azur      cian

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English color, colour, from Anglo-Norman colur, from Old French colour, color, from Latin color, from Old Latin colos ‎(“covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ‎(“to cover, conceal”). Akin to Latin cēlō ‎(“I hide, conceal”), Old English helan ("to conceal, cover, hide"; see hele). Displaced Middle English blee ‎(“color”), from Old English blēo. More at blee. Also partially replaced Old English hīw ‎(“color”) and its descendants, which is less often used in this sense. Dutch kleur ‎(“color”), Danish kulør ‎(“color”), Swedish kulör ‎(“color”).

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

  • (UK) enPR: kŭl'ə(r), IPA(key): /ˈkʌl.ə(ɹ)/
  • (US) enPR: kŭl'ər, IPA(key): /ˈkʌl.ɚ/
  • Rhymes: -ʌlə(ɹ)

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