Paterson J. A Dictionary of Colour - A Lexicon of the Language of Colour (анг. яз.)
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n blackstick
Slang for the clarinet.
n black studies
That part of the academic curriculum dealing with African or Afro-American
culture.
n black stuff
Slang for oil. See also black gold.
n black tea
Black tea leaves; apparently as high in antioxidants as green tea; tea without milk.
n black tie
A black bow-tie usually worn with evening dress, the whole uniform elliptically
referred to as ‘black tie’ especially in invitations. This became the fashion after
Prince Albert’s death in 1861 – Queen Victoria never having lifted it as official
court mourning. Before then, evening dress for men was splendidly colourful.
n black velvet
The drink made from combining champagne with stout.
n blackwood
A bidding convention in the card game, bridge, whereby it is possible (assuming
your partner remembers the rules) to find out how many Aces and Kings he or
she has in his hand. Also Roman Key Card Blackwood – an advanced form of
the convention which can find out even more of what is in your partner’s hand!
c blae
Between black and blue as the blaeberry or bilberry.
n blanc de chine
Unpainted white or cream porcelain originally made in China
from the 17th century.
n blanc fixe
A synthetic white pigment.
adjective a
adverb adv
a colour c
noun n
prefix pr
suffix su
verb vb
54 A DICTIONARY OF COLOUR
vb blanch; to
To whiten or cause to lose colour.
c BlanchedAlmond
A light yellow – one of the colours in the X11 Color Set. It has hex code #FFEBCD.
n blancmange
A thickened dessert made from milk and resembling jelly in its consistency – literally
‘white food’ and originally describing a meal of white fish or white meat.
c blancmange-pink
A pale pink.
n blanco
A substance used to whiten leather.
a bland
Colourless, insipid, lacking in stimulation.
c blatta
Purple; also the name for silk dyed purple.
n blaze
A white stripe on the faces of certain cats, dogs and horses stretching from between
the eyes to the muzzle or mouth.
a blazing
Flaming, shining. Also used as an adjective of colour especially as regards such
as yellow, red and orange.
n blazonry
Brilliant colouring as in the colouring of heraldic devices and coats-of-arms. See
heraldic colours.
vb bleach; to
To whiten or to grow pale. An obsolete use of the word has the opposite meaning,
namely, ‘to blacken’. ‘Bleach’ is possibly derived from ‘black’ although some
authorities suggest that it comes from the Old English word ‘blaec’ meaning
‘shining’.
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n bleach
A substance which is intended to remove stains or colour or to impart colour
particularly to hair.
a bleak
Pale.
n blee
Archaic term for a hue or colour.
n bleeding
The spilling over of colour from one section to another coloured section; in painting,
the coming to the surface of an undercolour.
vb blench; to
To make something white or pale; to become white or pale.
vb blend; to
To combine colours.
n blending
The technique used in oil painting of mixing colours so as to obtain an even
gradation of colour on the painted surface.
a bloached
Variegated with blotches (obs.).
n blob
A small blotch of colour.
c blonde (f), blond (m)
Light or fair in colour; especially as regards hair; a light golden colour; hence a
person having such hair.
c blood-dark
A dark red.
56 A DICTIONARY OF COLOUR
c blood-red
A dark red colour; a rich bluish red.
a bloodshot
Reddened (particularly of the eyes).
n bloodstone
The name given to red stones such as the garnet and the carnelian.
c bloody
Having the colour of blood.
c bloom
‘the blue colour upon plums and grapes newly gathered’ Samuel Johnson; hence
‘bloomy’.
n bloom
The powdery dappled appearance on the surface of some fruit (see previous entry);
the effect created in watercolour painting when one wash merges into another.
vb bloom; to
To glow with colour.
c blossom
A soft pink.
n blot
A stain, blemish or patch.
vb blot; to
To make a stain with ink.
n blotch
An irregular application of colour; an irregular patch of colour in particular of
ink; hence ‘blotchy’.
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a blowzed, blowzy
High-coloured; ruddy especially as regards the complexion.
c blue
The colour of the sky or of the sea. One of the three primary colours (but not
until the 16th century). The word blue as the name of the colour has had an uncer-
tain history. In some languages there is no name for the colour and it was not
regarded by the ancients as a primary colour. It has been confused linguistically
with the colour yellow – flavus being both the root of ‘blue’ and Latin for yellow.
In the Russian language there is no one word for blue, but two words one meaning
dark blue and the other light blue which are regarded as different colours.
Describes any colours having wavelengths between approximately 480 and 445
nanometres. One of the three additive primary colours. Coloured or tinted lenses
are used to correct various reading disorders including some forms of dyslexia
and blue lenses apparently are the most effective. A symbol of piety; associated
in medieval times with the Zodiac signs Pisces and Sagittarius and with the planet
Jupiter and with darkness. In English folklore blue represents loyalty, is the colour
for baby boys and is supposed to bring good luck to brides who heed the super-
stition to wear on their wedding day ‘something old, something new, something
borrowed, something blue’. Blue is the colour of the ring second from the centre
in archery. Conservative – in relation to the Tory Party in the UK.
a blue
Risqué as in ‘blue jokes’; pornographic. One theory put forward in World Wide
Words as to the origin of ‘blue’ to indicate pornography is that prostitutes used
to wear blue gowns in prison and were referred to as ‘bluegowns’. In China a
pornographic book is referred to as a ‘yellow book’.
a blue
Melancholy.
n blue
Someone who represents the Universities of Oxford or
Cambridge in some game, sport or other activity – a dark blue
for Oxford and a light blue for Cambridge. Hence ‘a blue’ is
the honour received as well as the person receiving it Also
used as regards Eton and Harrow Schools. See Cambridge
blue, Oxford blue.
adjective a
adverb adv
a colour c
noun n
prefix pr
suffix su
verb vb
58 A DICTIONARY OF COLOUR
c Blue
One of the 140 colours in the X11 Color Set. It has hex code #0000FF.
n blue baby
A new-born baby with cyanosis, having a lack of oxygen in its blood caused by
a congenital defect.
n blue bag
The blue sack traditionally used by barristers to carry their papers.
n blue beads
According to the superstition rife in London amongst the working class, at least
until WW1, wearing blue beads wards off bronchial problems.
n Bluebeard
A mythological man who is said to have murdered his wives after locking them
in his tower.
c bluebell
The blue colour of the plant of the same name having blue bell-shaped flowers
also called ‘wood hyacinth’.
c bluebird
Used in reference to the colour of the plumage of this bird.
c blue-black
Black with a touch of blue.
n blue black
A kind of carbon black. See Frankfort black.
n blue book, the
Jargon term for particular registers, official publications, directories, manuals,
rulebooks and the like in various callings and professions so called by reference
to the colour thereof.
n blue-bloodied
Having noble or royal ancestors; from the Spanish sangre azul meaning pure
Spanish ancestry with no Moorish blood.
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n bluebottle
Nickname for a policeman; the cornflower; the blow-fly.
n Blue Carpet
£800,000 was spent in 1998/9 on painting 2,500 sq. metres of central Newcastle-
Upon-Tyne in blue – the so-called ‘Blue Carpet’.
n blue cheese
Cheese the mould in which creates blue-green veins. Amongst the best known
are Gorgonzola, Stilton, and Roquefort.
n blue chip
Top notch or first class as in ‘blue chip securities’. The phrase dates from 1929
and originates from the blue chips which were often the highest denomination
chips at the gaming table.
n blue-collar worker
A manual worker.
n blue devils
A fit of melancholy.
n Blue Ensign
A flag which has a blue background and bears the Union Jack in the corner, flown
by some Royal Navy vessels and yacht clubs.
n Blue Flag
The acknowledgement given to European seaside resorts for maintaining the
cleanest beaches.
n Blue Four, the
Der Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider) the group of avant garde artists formed by Kandinsky,
Klee, Marc and Feininger in 1911 which had a significant influence on modern
art before WW1.
n Blue Gene/L
See ASCII Purple.
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n bluegrass
A type of US country music played on stringed instruments including the banjo.
c blue-green
There are, of course, an infinite number of colour combinations – this one is chosen
as a representative so as to give some recognition to the almost extinct Tansy
beetle whose blue-green iridescent wing casings were used in Victorian days to
decorate dresses. Seven down The Times Crossword 6.2.03: ‘Blue, not green’. (5
letters). See Solution to blue-green crossword problem.
n blueing
The blue substance used by laundries to prevent clothes going yellow.
n blue, in the
The light blue condition of leather which has been subjected to chrome tanning.
If sold in a partly-processed wet condition such leather is referred to as ‘wet blue
leather’.
n bluejacket
A sailor.
n blue jeans
The ubiquitous blue denim trouser invented by Levi Strauss. On BBC Radio 4
on 27 May 1998 mention was made of growing blue cotton so as to avoid the
need to dye it for use in manufacturing blue jeans.
n blue joke
A joke containing some explicit reference to sex; a risqué or pornographic joke.
In other languages different colours fulfil a similar role to describe such humour,
for example, in Spanish the term ‘green joke’ is used and in Japanese ‘pink joke’.
n blue law
US term in reference to repressive Puritanical laws regulating individual conduct
in Colonial times including laws prohibiting adultery – the penalty for which was
death – and restricting entertainment and business activities on Sundays.
Possibly so called because of the blue posters announcing the new laws.
n blue-light
Slang for an emergency in reference to the flashing lights on the vehicles of the
emergency services.
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n Blue Monday
A Monday on which the trading of stock on Wall Street is slow perhaps after
the Blue Monday of the Middle Ages being the Monday before Lent when last
minute drinking caused serious hangovers! Monday 11th June 1928 (which saw
a significant fall in the San Francisco Stock Exchange), Monday 28th May 1962
(a major drop in the Dow Jones index) and Monday 21 November 1966 (a serious
market decline on Wall Street) are also referred to as being a Blue Monday. See
Black Monday and Black Friday.
n blueness
The quality of being blue in colour.
n bluenose
Someone with puritanical or prudish views possibly in reference to blue laws.
vb blue pencil; to
To edit or censor script in reference to the traditional blue pencil often used by
editors for this purpose.
n Blue Peter
The blue flag with a white square indicating a boat’s imminent departure from
port. Possibly a corruption of ‘blue repeater’ which was displayed to ask another
vessel to repeat an earlier message. Also a classic long-running children’s
programme on BBC television.
n blue period
The period between 1901 and 1904 during which Pablo Picasso (1881-1973),
affected by the suicide of his close friend Casagemas, used a characteristic blue
in a variety of shades in each of his paintings depicting melancholy and misery.
This was followed between 1905 and 1907 by the so called rose period – a period
in which Picasso used much brighter colours.
n blue plate special
A main course meal with vegetables or a set course meal
available at a special price in an inexpensive restaurant –
particularly in the US.
adjective a
adverb adv
a colour c
noun n
prefix pr
suffix su
verb vb
62 A DICTIONARY OF COLOUR
n blueprint
A photographic print of a technical plan or drawing. The process of reproducing
such prints, which originated in 1840, relied on the fact that ferroprussiate reduces
to ferrous on exposure to light. Figuratively, any detailed scheme or plan.
c blue-red
Mid-way between blue and red on the spectrum.
n blue revolution
the objective of ensuring that the poorer nations have adequate water for drinking
and irrigation purposes. Possibly derived from the use of ‘green’ to indicate
environmentalism.
n blue ribbon
The highest award given; originates from the badge of the Order of the Garter
consisting of a blue ribbon. See cordon bleu.
a blue-ringed
Having blue rings as in the case of the Australian blue-ringed octopus one of
the most deadly poisonous creatures. It displays its true blue colours only on the
point of attack.
n blue rinse
The light blue hair tint which favoured by elderly middle-class women.
n blue ruin
Slang for gin.
n blues
The mournful yet exuberant music of the Southern United States originated by
Black Americans and the forerunner of jazz. Strictly twelve bars long and including
many so-called ‘blue notes’, that is, minor 3rds and 7ths.
n Blues
Regiment of Royal Horse Guards.