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azure

Etymology and origin of the English word azure

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Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Old French azur

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈæʒə/, /ˈæzjʊə/ (UK); /ˈæʒɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French azur,[2][3][4] from Medieval Latin azura,[2] from Arabic لازورد (lāzaward),[2][3][5] from Persian لاجورد (lājvard, “lapis lazuli”).[2][3][4][5] Etymonline traces the Persian word to Lajward, a place in Turkestan where the stone was mined.[4] The initial l- was lost in the Romance languages because it was taken for the definite article.[3][4][6] Merriam-Webster traces the English word through Anglo-French azeure and probably Old Spanish.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The precious stone lapis lazuli (c. 1325).[7][5]

Semantic evolution

From the stone the word passed to the blue pigment made from it (c. 1374)[7][4] and to blue in heraldry (before 1330).[7] By 1481 it meant the clear blue of the unclouded sky or sea,[7] and by 1667 the sky itself.[7] The OED notes that it first meant a deep, intense blue, but now usually a soft, clear, bright blue.[7] The stone sense is archaic.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1325 – lapis lazuli.[7]
  • before 1330 – the heraldic color blue.[7]
  • c. 1374 – a blue pigment or dye.[7]
  • 1481 – the blue of the clear sky.[7]
  • 1667 – the unclouded sky.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The blue color of a clear sky; a light purplish blue.
  2. (heraldry) The color blue.
  3. (poetic) The clear, cloudless sky.
  4. (archaic) Lapis lazuli.

Adjective

  1. Of the color of a clear blue sky.

Word family

  • azurite
  • lapis lazuli
  • lazuli

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Azure.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/azure. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·