color English · revision 2694

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1225, King Horn|origins=la color}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈkʌl.ə/, US /ˈkʌl.ɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|colour]], colur,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|xno|culur]], coulour, Old French color, colour “color, complexion, appearance” (modern couleur),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|color|t=color of the skin; hue; appearance]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Old Latin colōs, originally “a covering”,^(Etymonline) related to [[m|la|cēlō|t=I hide, conceal]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*ḱel-|alt=*kel-|t=to cover, conceal]].^(Etymonline) Sanskrit varṇa- “covering, color” shows a similar development.^(Etymonline) The Old English words for color were hīw, the source of [[hue]], and blēo.^(Etymonline) The verb is from Old French colorer, from Latin colōrāre.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Skin color, complexion: about 1225, in ''King Horn'',^(Barnhart 1988) the early 13th century.^(Etymonline) The color of an object, a hue or tint, is from about 1300,^(Etymonline) probably before 1300 in ''Kyng Alisaunder'',^(Barnhart 1988) and about 1290 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Colour was the usual English spelling from the 14th century, from Anglo-French;^(Etymonline) classical correction made color an alternative from the 15th century, and it became the established spelling in the United States.^(Etymonline) From about 1300 a color was also a distinctive mark of identification, as on a badge or livery, originally a coat of arms,^(Etymonline) hence the ''colors'' of a regiment or a ship.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) Color as an inherent quality of matter perceived by the eye is from the late 14th century^(Etymonline) (1398 in the OED).^(OED 1989) The verb, “to give color to”, is from the late 14th century^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) or about 1325,^(OED 1989) and figuratively “to make something appear different from what it is” from the same time.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) “To blush” is from 1721.^(Etymonline) ''Colorless'' is from about 1380,^(Barnhart 1988) ''coloration'' from 1626, in Bacon,^(Barnhart 1988) ''color-blind'' from 1854^(Barnhart 1988) and ''colorful'' from 1889.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1225 – complexion.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – a hue; a badge of identification.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1325 – verb, to give color to.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1380 – ''colorless''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1398 – color as a property of objects.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1626 – ''coloration''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1721 – verb, to blush.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1854 – ''color-blind''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1889 – ''colorful''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The property of objects of producing different sensations on the eye, as a result of the way they reflect or emit [[light]]; a particular [[hue]], such as red or blue.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The colour of a person's skin, as a sign of race.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Redness of the face; a healthy complexion: ''the color returned to her cheeks''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Interest, vividness or character: ''local color''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''colors'': A flag, as of a regiment or ship; the badge or uniform of a team.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A false appearance or pretext: ''under color of law''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To give color to, as by painting or dyeing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To influence or distort: ''anger colored his judgment''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To blush.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[colorer]]

+ * [[colorable]]

+ * [[colored]]

+ * [[decolor]]

+ * [[discolor]]

+ * [[miscolor]]

+ * [[overcolor]]

+ * [[precolor]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[coloration]]

+ * [[colour]]

+ * [[colorful]]

+ * [[hue]]

+ * [[conceal]]

+ * [[cell]]

+ * [[hell]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Colour'' is the British spelling.^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline) A separate 18th-century cant word ''colour'' meant a dupe, the same as cully.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}