Paterson J. A Dictionary of Colour - A Lexicon of the Language of Colour (анг. яз.)
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n verditer
A green or blue pigment used in water colours. Some authorities suggest this
derives from the French verd de terre, green earth, but Maerz & Paul prefer
verdâtre, greenish, as the origin. Blue verditer or verditer blue (also known as
Sanders blue, cendres bleu and blue bice) was widely used in the 17th to 18th
centuries and was one of the first pigments to be manufactured in bulk on a
commercial basis.
n verdure
Greenness of vegetation; the colour of vegetation.
a verdurous
Rich in greenness or verdure.
vb verge; to
To approximate in shade to a particular colour.
c vermeil, vermil
Vermilion; a vivid scarlet.
a vermeil-tinctured
Scarlet; as used by John Milton (1608-1674) in Comus.
c vermilion
Bright red or scarlet. Originally named after the kermes dye and subsequently
made from crushing cinnabar but in the 19th century made from a combina-
tion of sulphur and mercury and hence toxic. Superseded by cadmium red. The
word vermilion came into the English language in the 15th century from the Latin
vermiculus – meaning ‘small worm’ – the kermes insect being wrongly thought
to be a worm.
n vernice liquida
A varnish consisting of sandarac and linseed oil.
c Verona green
Another term for terra verte, a green earth. Named after the city of Verona in
Italy from where the supply of terra verte became exhausted in the 1930’s.
c Veronese green
Emerald green.
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a versicoloured
Diversely coloured; also ‘versicolorous’.
c vessey
Light blue.
vb vex; to
To variegate in colour.
a vibrant
As regards colours, radiant, bright, dazzling.
c Victoria green
A light green.
c Victoria red
See chrome orange.
c vicuna
The tawny colour of the South American mammal related to the llama; also ‘vicuna-
coloured’.
c Vienna blue
A deep greenish blue.
c Vienna green
See emerald green.
a vinaceous, vinous
Of the colour of wine.
c vine black
Black with a brown tinge.
c vine green
The green of the vine leaf.
a vinous
Wine-coloured.
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pr violace- (L)
Violet.
a violaceous
Having a violet colour.
a violascent
Approaching violet. Compare with ‘violescent’.
a violescent
Tending towards violet; or having a violet tinge.
c violet
A bluish shade of purple; within the range of approximately 425 to 390 nanome-
tres. Hence, ‘violetish’ (see -ish). The caves at Altamira in Spain reveal that violet
pigments were used as long ago as the Stone Age – see pigment. ‘Violet’ is one
of the many colours for which there is no convenient rhyming word. Others include
crimson, orange, purple and silver.
c Violet
One of the colours in the X11 Color Set. It has hex code #EE82EE.
n violettomania
The condition from which the Impressionists were jocularly accused of suffering
having regard to their prediliction for using blue-violet shadows.
n violine
A violet colourant.
a virent
Having a green colour.
n virescence
As regards flowers and plants, the development or retetention
of greenness.
a virescent
Turning green; abnormally green.
adjective a
adverb adv
a colour c
noun n
prefix pr
suffix su
verb vb
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n virgin-tints
Unmixed colours on the artist’s palette as referred to by William Hogarth. Also
called ‘bloom-tints’.
pr virid- (L)
Green.
a virid
Green.
vb viridate; to
To make something green (obs.).
n viridescence
Greenness.
a viridescent
Becoming green; slightly green.
c viridian, veridian
A deep green – see viridian green.
c viridian green
A brilliant deep green produced from chromium oxide. It was discovered in 1797
by the chemist Louis-Nicholas Vauquelin (1763-1829), created by the Parisian
Pannetier in 1838 and patented by the French chemist C E Guignet in 1859. It is
referred to by many names including emerald green, vert emeraude, celadon
green, Veronese green, Pannetier green and Guignet’s green. It is an
excellent pigment for artists and was a favourite of the Impressionists.
n viridine
A green dye, aniline based.
n viridity
The quality of being green in colour.
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n visible light
Light within the wavelengths 10
(-7)
to 10
(-6)
which for human beings constitutes
the visible spectrum – colour in the approximate range of between 400 and 700
nanometres.
c vistal
A pale purple colour.
a vitelline
Having the deep-yellow colouring of the yolk of an egg.
n vitiligo
An auto-immune disorder effecting around 1% of the world population where
the skin loses its pigmentation due to a reduced number of melanocytes giving
rise to localised patches of white skin.
a vitreous
Having the colour (and other qualities) of glass. Vitrium, the Latin for glass,
originates from the Latin word for blue-green being the colour which glass takes
on if its impurities are not removed in the course of production. Glass usually
derives its colour from metallic ions entering molten glass by means of the addition
of metallic oxides such as iron, cobalt, chromium, copper and manganese. Iron,
for example, will generate a green or amber colour. Copper produces a turquoise
colour and chromium produces colours ranging from green to brown.
n vittae
Bands of colour particularly as regards birds. The singular form is vitta.
pr vittat- (L)
Striped.
a vittated
Striped; marked with bands or vittae.
a vivid
Very bright, lively or brilliant in colour; intense.
n vividness
The quality of being vivid.
W
c wallflower brown
A reddish brown.
c walnut
The brown colour of the English walnut shell; also sometimes the colour of the
walnut tree or of the nut itself.
a wan
Pallid, pale, ashen or sickly especially as regards the complexion; originally
meaning the opposite, namely, dark, lacking light, gloomy.
adv wanly
Palely.
c Warhol pink
A shade of pink (Sunday Times Magazine 14.11.99).
a warm
A painting term indicating warm colours such as orange, red and yellow.
n warm colours
Colours which appear to advance towards the viewer such as orange, red and
yellow which by reason of their resemblance to fire and flames convey a warmth
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compared with, so-called, cool colours. There may be some physical reality in
this – red light, for example, can stimulate adrenaline in the human body creating
an increase in body temperature. Also referred to as ‘hard colours’. All colours
may be said to have either a warm or a cool aspect. Ultramarine, for example,
is sometimes described as a ‘warm blue’ because it verges towards red.
n warning colours
See aposematic.
n wash
The application of a thin layer of colour, for example, in watercolour painting
or in decoration such as whitewash; a dyestuff applied to change the colour of
hair.
c wasp green
The concocted definition in ‘The Deeper Meaning of Liff ’ by Douglas Adams and
John Lloyd, Pan Books, 1990 for a catalogue colour ‘which is quite obviously yellow’.
See also English pink.
c watchet
Pale blue; the word is sometimes described as obsolete but John Clare (1793 –
1864) used the term. Perhaps from Watchet in Somerset suggests Partridge.
n watercolour
The ancient technique of painting using water-based as opposed to oil-based
pigments. Unlike other water-based techniques, such as gouache, lighter tones
come from thinning the paint rather than adding white; the powdered pigment
mixed with a water-soluble medium, such as gum arabic or gelatin as a binder
to hold it together. Watercolour pigments are either transparent (allowing the white
or other ground to remain apparent) or opaque (having only a degree of opacity).
n watering
The variegated appearance of silk with its watery or wave-
like effect, particularly, moiré silk.
a waterproof
As regards a pigment, resistant to change from water.
adjective a
adverb adv
a colour c
noun n
prefix pr
suffix su
verb vb
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a watery
Pale, like water in colour; also used in conjunction with colours such as ‘watery-
blue’.
a wax-coloured
Having the yellowish colour of wax.
n wax-colours
The colours applied by the Greeks and the Romans to wooden panels by means
of burning wax. See encaustic.
a waxen
As regards the colour of the complexion of an ill person or a corpse, wan or
extremely pale.
a weak
As regards colours, lacking in intensity or brilliance.
c Wedgewood blue
The blue (light or dark) characteristic of Wedgewood pottery.
n weld
A natural yellow dye from the plant Reseda luteola (see dyer’s rocket) used
particularly in the dyeing of silk.
a well-coloured
Fully coloured; coloured to good effect.
n wet blue leather
See blue, in the.
c wheat
A light yellow.
c Wheat
One of the 140 colours in the X11 Color Set. It has hex code #F5DEB3.
a wheatish
Light-skinned.
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a whey
Pale in colour hence, ‘whey-coloured’.
a wheyface
Pale faced.
c white
The colour of snow. A colour associated with peace and purity (see symbolism)
and formerly with wealth – it was only the rich who could afford to wear clothes
made from white cloth since they needed such frequent washing. In English folklore
the colour white is associated with innocence although it also symbolises death
and bad luck. According to superstition it is unlucky to give white flowers
(particularly with red flowers) to someone who is ill. In the range of approximately
450-380 nanometres. Defined in Ambrose Bierce’s The Enlarged Devil’s Dictionary,
Penguin Books, 1971, as ‘White, adj and n., Black’. The colour of the outer ring
in archery. In printing, any space on paper which has no print. The albumen of
the egg. Having no hue; light in colour; as regards tea or coffee, having milk added.
Strictly, white is not a colour. It is rather the combination of all the colours so
that when white light is viewed through a prism the rainbow effect is created
indicating all the colours of which white is comprised. The three white pigments
used in the manufacture of white oil colours are flake white, zinc white and
titanium white. More white paint is produced than any other colour paint.
c White
One of the colours in the X11 Color Set. It has hex code #FFFFFF.
n Whiteacre
See Blackacre.
n white blonde
A person whose blonde hair verges more to white than to light gold; also the
colour, ‘white blonde’, sometimes applied to lace.
n White Book, The
Used to describe various official publications, including the Rules of the Supreme
Court in England and Wales.
n whitecap
See white horse.
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n white card
A card with a computer chip containing personal details of the owner and to
which electronic data can be downloaded.
n White Coat Rule
The banning by the Federal Trade Commission in the US of advertisements
portraying doctors in white laboratory coats who are really actors.
n white-collar worker
A person involved in some managerial or office orientated job as opposed to
manual workers. See blue-collar.
n whited sepulchre
An evil person who pretends to be good; a sham; a hypocritical person. A biblical
term originating in Matthew xxiii: 27.
n white dwarf
A small star at the end of its life depleted of nuclear fuel and having collapsed
into an extremely dense mass.
n white elephant
An item expensive to maintain, difficult to get rid of or of little use or benefit to
its owner – or any combination thereof. In reference to Thai kings who made
gifts of white elephants the cost of the upkeep of which was intended to ruin
the recipient. Thailand, which reveres white elephants, has tried to clone a
magnificent deceased specimen in view of their rarity. Apparently, white elephants
are never completely white, however, Thai tradition requires that elephants to
qualify as white elephants, must have white eyes, white toenails and white genitalia
as well as the palest of skins.
n White Ensign
The flag used by the Royal Navy. It has a red cross on a white background and
the Union Jack in the corner.
n white feather
A symbol of cowardice in reference to cockfighting where cocks with white feathers
were supposed to be poor fighters.
n white finger
A condition caused by the persistent use of drills and pneumatic equipment.