sepia

en-noun

sepia (countable and uncountable, plural sepias)

Borrowed from Latin sēpia (“cuttlefish”), from Ancient Greek σηπία (sēpía). Cognate with Italian seppia, Portuguese siba, and Spanish sepia.

bor+

(by extension, countable) A sepia-coloured drawing or photograph.


indigo

en-noun

indigo (countable and uncountable, plural indigos or indigoes)

/ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/

16th century (as indico, modern spelling from the 17th century), Spanish índigo, Portuguese endego (modern índigo), or Dutch (via Portuguese) indigo, all from Latin indicum (“indigo”), from Ancient Greek ἰνδικόν (indikón, “Indian dye”), from Ἰνδία (Indía). Doublet of Indic.

der

An indigo-colored dye obtained from certain plants (indigo plant or woad), or a similar synthetic dye.


saffron

en-noun

saffron (countable and uncountable, plural saffrons)

→ Japanese: サフラン (safuran)

→ Korean: 사프란 (sapeuran)

From Middle English saffron, from Old French safran, from Medieval Latin safrānum, from Arabic زَعْفَرَان (zaʕfarān).

Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, spikenard and saffron […]

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Song of Songs of Songs-Chapter-4/#13-14 4:13-14:

2009, D. H. Sanaeinejad, S. N. Hosseini, Regression Models for Saffron Yields in Iran, Daoliang Li, Chunjiang Zhao (editors), Computer and Computing Technologies in Agriculture II, Volume 1, page 510,
Usually the maximum temperature for October, November and December in the southern parts of Khorassan–the main saffron growing area of the Iran-does not exceed 20°C, while the minimum temperature reaches 0°C.

Crocus sativus
Crocus sativus#Translingual

A plant of species Crocus sativus, a crocus.

I must have saffron to colour the warden pies […]

c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:

1658, Thomas Muffet, The Theatre of Insects, [1634, Insectorum sive Minimorum Animalium Theatrum], quoted in 2008, Anna Suranyi, The Genius of the English Nation: Travel Writing and National Identity in Early Modern England, page 117-118,
The Irish and Ireland people (who are frequently troubled with lice, and such as will fly, as they say, in summer) anoint their shirts with saffron, and to very good purpose, to drive away the lice, but after six months they wash their shirts again, putting fresh saffron into the lye.

Saffron is not included in American and British pharmacopoeias, but some Indian medical formulae still include it.

2002, James A. Duke, editor, CRC Handbook of Medicinal Spices, page 129:

Saffron is the stigma of the crocus flower, which is harvested by hand, dried, and sold either in strands or ground to powder.[…]Of all the medieval spices, saffron was the most expensive, which is not surprising given that 70,000 flowers only yield one pound of dried stigmas. In the European cookbooks of the late Middle Ages, nearly all of which which reflect refined upper-class dining, saffron is ubiquitous.

2004, Melitta Weiss Adamson, Food in Medieval Times, page 15:

Saffron is often called the “golden spice.”

2011, Mathew Attokaran, Natural Food Flavors and Colorants, unnumbered page:

A spice (seasoning) and colouring agent made from the stigma and part of the style of the plant, sometimes or formerly also used as a dye and insect repellent.

saffron:

[…] The stately Ram
Shone thro’ the Mead, in native Purple clad,
Or milder Saffron […]

a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Spring”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC, page 18:

[…] the girls locked up Echo Lodge again and went away in the perfect half hour that follows the rose and saffron of a winter sunset.

1915, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, chapter 7, in Anne of the Island, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, →OCLC:

These colours might have been expressly designed—by dissonance as much as harmony—for juxtaposition against those pouring down in brilliant rays of light from the Tiepolo; subtle yet penetrating pinks and greys, light blue turning almost to lavender, rich saffrons and cinnamons melting into bronze and gold.

1973, Anthony Powell, Temporary Kings, page 82:

The classical shades of Antiquity were the most prevalent, but along with the Venetian reds and Egyptian blues, the saffrons and ochres and indigos, were more delicate hues: of pink and cream and lilac, like shells littered upon the shore.

2011, Seth Hunter, The Winds of Folly, unnumbered page:

On another occasion, H-pop singer Kanhiya Mittal sang a duet with a BJP lawmaker whose lyrics read “the saffron is getting deeper”, a reference to the colour of Hinduism and the BJP's own party colours, […]

2024 May 4, John Reed, “How to interpret India?”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 9:

An orange-yellow colour, the colour of a lion's pelt.


saffron

en-verb

saffron (third-person singular simple present saffrons, present participle saffroning, simple past and past participle saffroned)

saffrons (present singular third-person)
saffroning (participle present)
saffroned (participle past)
saffroned (past)

The other part Northern, & ful of mountaines, a very rude and homely kinde of people doth inhabite, which are called the redshankes or wilde Scottes. They be clothed with a mantel and shyrte saffroned, after the Irishe manner, going bare legged to the knée.

1580, John Stow, “A briefe Description of Englande, Scotlande, Wales, and Cornwall”, in The Chronicles of England, London: Ralph Newberie, page 9:

Thee next day foloing lustring Aurora lay shymring,
Her saffrond mattresse leauing to her bedfelo Tithon.

1582, Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgil his Aeneis, Leiden: John Pates, Book 4, p. 82:

1638, uncredited translator, Historie Naturall and Experimentall, of Life and Death by Francis Bacon, London: William Lee and Humphrey Mosley, p. 244,
The same Irish, use to weare Saffroned Linnen, and Shirts; Which though it were, at first, devised to prevent Vermine, yet, howsoever, I take it, to be very usefull for Lengthening of Life […]

To give a saffron colour to (something).

To dye (a fabric, garment, etc.) with a saffron-based dye.


achiote

en-noun

achiote (countable and uncountable, plural achiotes)

/ˌɑt͡ʃiːˈoʊti/

Borrowed from Spanish achiote, from Classical Nahuatl āchiyōtl.

Bixa orellana
Bixa orellana#Translingual

A tropical American evergreen shrub, Bixa orellana; the lipstick tree.


madder

en-verb

madder (third-person singular simple present madders, present participle maddering, simple past and past participle maddered)

madders (present singular third-person)
maddering (participle present)
maddered (participle past)
maddered (past)


bice

en-noun

bice (countable and uncountable, plural bices)

From French bis, akin to Italian bigio (“light gray, tawny”). Doublet of beige.

A pale blue pigment, prepared from the native blue carbonate of copper, or from smalt.


litmus

litmus (countable and uncountable, plural litmuses)

From Middle English litmose, lytmose, litemose, from Old Norse litmosi (“moss used for dyeing”), from lita (“to dye, stain”) + mosi (“moss”), the former from litr (“colour, dye, blee”), from Proto-Germanic *wlitiz, *wlituz (“appearance, blee”), from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to see”). Cognate with Old English wlite (“appearance, form, brightness, countenance”). More at moss.

cog

(uncountable) A dyestuff extracted from certain lichens, that changes color when exposed to pH levels greater than or less than certain critical levels.

A simple test of acidity in a liquid using litmus, usually in the form of litmus paper.

A simple test of any attribute; a litmus test.


zaffre

en-noun

zaffre (countable and uncountable, plural zaffres)

From Italian zaffera, from Latin sapphirus (“sapphire”). Doublet of sapphire.

If Zaffre or Regulus of Cobalt be dissolved in the same manner in spirit of nitre, or aqua fortis, a reddish colour is produced on exposing the paper to heat.

1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation, J. Johnson, page 49:

A blue pigment obtained by roasting cobalt ore.

zaffre:

A cobalt blue colour, like that of the pigment.


copper phthalocyanine

(organic chemistry) A synthetic chemical used as a colorant in paints and dyes. First used in 1929. In pure form it is an intense blue. It is chlorinated to produce very intense dark green, and brominated and chlorinated copper phthalocyanines are mixed to produce a yellower emerald green.


Congo red

Congo red (countable and uncountable, plural Congo reds)

A dye that turns red in alkaline, blue in acidic solutions.


Prussian blue

Prussian blue (countable and uncountable, plural Prussian blues)

The pigment was discovered circa 1700 in the German state of Prussia by a paint-maker named Diesbach.

(inorganic chemistry) An insoluble dark, bright blue pigment, ferric ferrocyanide (equivalent to ferrous ferricyanide), used in painting and dyeing, and as an antidote for certain kinds of heavy metal poisoning.

Prussian blue:

A moderate to rich blue colour, tinted with deep greenish blue.


Prussian blue

en-adj

Prussian blue (comparative more Prussian blue, superlative most Prussian blue)

more Prussian blue (comparative)
most Prussian blue (superlative)

Of a rich blue colour, tinted with green.


Tyrian purple

en-noun

Tyrian purple (countable and uncountable, plural Tyrian purples)

A deep purple dyestuff obtained from the bodies of mollusks of certain species of the family Muricidae, originally certain of those of the eastern Mediterranean, now also other species from elsewhere.

Tyrian purple:

A deep purple colour, tinted with red, like that of the dye.


Tyrian purple

Of a deep purple colour, tinted with red, like that of the dye.


quercitron

quercitron (countable and uncountable, plural quercitrons)

The black oak tree, Quercus velutina, indigenous to North America.


dyestuff

dyestuff (countable and uncountable, plural dyestuffs)

Any soluble pigment used for dyeing the hair, fabric, etc.


cochineal

cochineal (countable and uncountable, plural cochineals)

/ˌkɒt͡ʃɪˈniːl/

The noun is borrowed from Middle French cochenille (modern French cochenille), from Italian cocciniglia or Spanish cochinilla; further etymology uncertain, possibly from Latin coccineus, coccinus (“scarlet-dyed; scarlet in colour”) (whence Italian coccineo (“scarlet in colour”)) + Italian -iglia (suffix forming collective nouns), Spanish -illa (“diminutive suffix”). Coccinus is derived from Ancient Greek κόκκῐνος (kókkĭnos, “scarlet; (figurative) blushing”, adjective), from κόκκος (kókkos, “kermes oak (Quercus coccifera); insect of the genus Kermes living on the oak; scarlet dye made from crushed kermes insects”) (possibly from Pre-Greek) + -ῐνος (-ĭnos, suffix forming adjectives).
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, cochineal is not derived from Spanish cochinilla (“pill bug, especially the common pill bug (Armadillidium vulgare)”), a diminutive of cochina (“female pig, sow”) (from the animal’s shape), which coincidentally has the same spelling as cochinilla (“cochineal”).
The adjective is derived from the noun.

noncog

The Cochineel is an Inſect, bred in a ſort of Fruit much like the Prickle Pear. […] The Silveſter gives a colour almoſt as fair as the Cochineel; and ſo like it as to be often miſtaken for it, but it is not near ſo valuable.

1697, William Dampier, chapter VIII, in A New Voyage Round the World. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, pages 228–229:

A prodigious quantity of insects of all sorts (but no mosquitoes) assailed us at our evening meal. […] There were some that were larger—earwigs, cochineals, a little mole-cricket, and an enormous mantis. I stuffed a number of them into my poison-bottle.

1930, André Gide, “Back Again”, in Dorothy Bussy, transl., Travels in the Congo […], red seal edition, New York, N.Y.: Modern Age Books, published 1937, →OCLC, part 2 (Back from the Chad), page 194:

The cochineal insects belong to the genus Dactylopius and are interesting not only on account of the dye, used in confectionery, that is obtained from them, but also because of the effect certain kinds have on their host-plants. The cochineals that infest certain kinds of prickly pear of the genus Monacantha have such an adverse effect on the plants, that the latter are completely destroyed. […] One of the cochineals that infest the last-named does have a killing effect at times, but by no means so marked.

1936, H. K. Munro, F. A. Fouché, “Introduction”, in A List of the Scale Insects and Mealy Bugs (Coccidae) and Their Host-plants in South Africa = ’n Lys van die Dopluise en Wolluise (Coccidae) en hul Voedsterplante in Suid-Afrika (Union of South Africa, Department of Agriculture and Forestry Bulletin; no. 158), Pretoria, South Africa: Government printer, →OCLC, page 6:

The red dye—or cochineal red as it is called—is present in the body of cochineals, as is clearly apparent if one of the bugs is accidentally squashed. Cochineals were cultivated for their dye in the New World long before the arrival of the Spaniards. When Hernán Cortés entered Mexico in 1519 he was much taken by the widespread use of red in Aztec culture, and was downright dazzled by the magnificence of Montezuma's [i.e., Moctezuma II's] robe.

2003, Thomas Eisner, “The Opportunists”, in For the Love of Insects, Cambridge, Mass.; London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 318:

(countable) A scale insect of the species Dactylopius coccus, native to the tropical and subtropical Americas, which lives on prickly pear cacti (genus Opuntia).


cadmium yellow

en-noun

cadmium yellow (countable and uncountable, plural cadmium yellows)

cadmium yellow:


chrysoine resorcinol

(organic chemistry) a golden-yellow azo dye used as a food coloring


quinoline yellow

(organic chemistry) a yellow food coloring now known to be toxic and banned in some countries


azo dye

(organic chemistry) Any of a large number of mostly yellow to red synthetic dyes that contain an azo or diimide (-N=N-) functional group.


fustic

fustic (usually uncountable, plural fustics)

From Middle English fustik, from Middle French fustec, variant of fustet.

[…]nor can I tell to this day what wood to call the tree we cut down, except that it was very like the tree we call fustic, or between that and the Nicaragua wood, for it was much of the same colour and smell.

1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC:

A tropical American tree (Maclura tinctoria), whose wood produces a yellow dye.

Cotinus coggygria
Cotinus coggygria#Translingual

A European tree, Eurasian smoketree (Cotinus coggygria), whose wood produces an orange dye.

A yellow dye obtained from the wood of these trees.


orcein

orcein (usually uncountable, plural orceins)

(chemistry) a dye, related to litmus, that is extracted from the lichen Rocella tinctoria; used as a microscopic stain and as a food colouring


orchil

orchil (countable and uncountable, plural orchils)

From Old French orchel, orseil (modern French orseille), of uncertain origin.

Lecanora tartarea
Lecanora tartarea#Translingual

The purple dye, orcein, extracted from them (especially Lecanora tartarea) and often used as substitute for Tyrian purple.


azorubine

azorubine (countable and uncountable, plural azorubines)

(organic chemistry) a red azo dye used as a food colouring, mostly in baked goods


woad

woad (usually uncountable, plural woads)

From Middle English wode, from Old English wād (“woad”), from Proto-West Germanic *waiʀd, from Proto-Germanic *waizdaz (“woad”), from Proto-Indo-European *woydʰ-. Cognate with Old Frisian wēd (“woad”), Dutch wede (“woad”), German Waid (“woad”), and with French guède, Italian guado (“woad”) (both borrowed from Frankish). See also weed.

To prevent this, it was enacted, that no wines of Gaſcony and Guienne, or woads of Tholouſe, should be imported into England, except in ships belonging to the King, or some of his ſubjects; and that all ſuch wines and woads imported in foreign bottoms ſhould be forfeited.

1814, Robert Henry, The History of Great Britain, 5th edition, volume XII, page 309:

But in the middle of the sixteenth century indigo was introduced from the East Indies: and in the seventeenth century its use became extended, and supplanted that of woad.

1856, Albrecht Daniel Thaer, The Principles of Practical Agriculture, page 462:

Huge quanitities of alum and woad were disembarked each year at Southampton.

1983, E. B. Fryde, Studies in Medieval Trade and Finance, page 360:

For example, woad, a blue dye obtained from the plant Isatis tinctoria, was used throughout the Mediterannean and Europe and is often identified as indigo.

2007, Richard L. Myers, The 100 Most Important Chemical Compounds: A Reference Guide, page 152:

(countable and uncountable) The blue vat dye made from the leaves of the plant through partial drying and fermentation.


rhodamine

(organic chemistry) Any of a class of pink to red polycyclic fluorone dyes.


fluorescein

(organic chemistry) Any of a class of yellow xanthene dyes which are visible when highly diluted; used forensically to detect traces of blood, and in analytical chemistry as an indicator in silver nitrate titrations

fluorescéine

any of a class of yellow xanthene dyes which are visible when highly diluted


red lead

A bright red, poisonous oxide of lead, Pb₃O₄, used as a pigment and in glass and ceramics.


alizarin

alizarin (countable and uncountable, plural alizarins)

Borrowed from French alizarine, corresponding to alizari + -in.

glass headed pins,
oil-golds and copper greens,
anthracite blues, alizarins,

1946, Elizabeth Bishop, “Roosters”, in North and South:

In 1883, the German output of alizarin, the brilliant red chemical that imitated natural carmine, reached twelve thousand tons, dwarfing the amount being produced by Perkin's factory in London.

2010, Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of all Maladies, Fourth Estate, published 2011, page 82:

(organic chemistry) A red substance, 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone, extracted from madder root and used as a dye.


butternut

butternut (countable and uncountable, plural butternuts)

Juglans cinerea
Juglans cinerea#Translingual

A North American walnut tree, Juglans cinerea.

A dye made from the fruit of this walnut tree.

He made a delicious butternut soup.

Butternut squash
butternut squash#English

(informal outside South Africa) Butternut squash.


crystal violet

A dye, derived from gentian violet, that is used as an acid-base indicator and as a biological stain.


Orange GGN

(organic chemistry) An orange azo dye, 1-(m-sulfophenylazo)-2-naphthol-6-sulfonic acid, used as a food colouring


eosin

eosin (countable and uncountable, plural eosins)

Borrowed from German Eosin, coined by Heinrich Caro, from Ancient Greek ἠώς (ēṓs, “dawn”) + -in.

Thus the fluorescence of the familiar dye eosin can be excited quite well by ultra-violet or short-wave blue light, but is much better excited by visible green light with a wavelength close to that of the emitted radiation.

1999, Dan J. Goldstein, Understanding the Light Microscope, page 91:

Eosins are acid xanthene or phthalein dyes. Eosin Y, eosin B, phloxine and erythrosin (which unlike other eosins, is halogenated with iodine), are the common members of this group of dyes.

2000, J. Ochei, A. Kolhatkar, Medical Laboratory Science: Theory And Practice, page 450:

The hematoxylin and eosin stain (H&E) is the most widely used histological stain.

2012, John D. Bancroft, Christopher Layton, “10: The hemotoxylins and eosin”, in S. Kim Suvarna, Christopher Layton, John D. Bancroft, editors, Bancroft's Theory and Practice of Histological Techniques, 7th edition, page 173:

(organic chemistry) A red, acidic dye commonly used in histological stains.


cuprous oxide

cuprous oxide (usually uncountable, plural cuprous oxides)

copper(I) oxide, with chemical formula Cu₂O. Used as a pigment, fungicide and antifouling ingredient.


alkanet

alkanet (countable and uncountable, plural alkanets)

Sanguinaria canadensis
Sanguinaria canadensis#Translingual


gentian violet

gentian violet (countable and uncountable, plural gentian violets)

(chemistry) Also known as crystal violet, a chemical dye used in the Gram stain test, and is also a fungicide. Chemically: hexamethyl pararosaniline chloride, C₂₅H₃₀ClN₃


puccoon

puccoon (countable and uncountable, plural puccoons)

Borrowed from Powhatan poughkone. Doublet of poke.

The puccoon dye was used as a sort of body rouge; it rubbed off on English linen quite easily, as Byrd's men discovered.

2002, Stephen G Ausband, Byrd's line, page 62:

(countable, botany) Any one of several plants yielding a red pigment which is used by the North American Indians, such as the bloodroot and two species of Lithospermum, Lithospermum hirtum and Lithospermum canescens.


lacmus

From Dutch lakmoes, from lak (“lac”) + moes (“pulp”).


dyewood

dyewood (countable and uncountable, plural dyewoods)

Cochineal was cultivated in individual households, indigo was common, and several dyewoods were indigenous.

1979, Kax Wilson, A History of Textiles, Westview Press, →ISBN, page 336:

He would take with him red brasilwood from the East Indies – a dye-wood that was so valued that when a few years later the Portuguese found it in the New World, they would name a country after it.

2002, Victoria Finlay, Colour, Sceptre, published 2003, page 198:

Any wood from which colouring matter is extracted for dyeing.


tetramethylrhodamine

(organic chemistry) A rhodamine in which four hydrogens have been replaced by methyl groups. Forms such as tetramethylrhodamine dextran are often used as fluorescent tracer dyes in cell research.


calcein

(organic chemistry) A fluorescent dye, with chemical formula C₃₀H₂₆N₂O₁₃; related to fluorescein; used in some contexts as a calcium indicator


sulforhodamine

(organic chemistry) Any derivative of a rhodamine formed by adding one or more sulfonate groups. Often used as fluorescent dyes.


carboxyfluorescein

(organic chemistry) A fluorescent dye that is used as a biological tracer


mauveine

mauveine (countable and uncountable, plural mauveines)

A purple dye, the first synthetic organic dye created.


Brown HT

(organic chemistry) A brown synthetic coal tar diazo dye.


methylene blue

(organic chemistry) A heterocyclic aromatic chemical compound with many uses in biology and chemistry.


malachite green

(organic chemistry) A toxic chemical used as a dye, as a treatment for infections in fish (when diluted), and as a bacteriological stain


safranin

safranin (countable and uncountable, plural safranins)

A biological stain used in histology and cytology.


thymolsulphonephthalein

Thymol blue, a brownish-green or reddish-brown crystalline powder used as a pH indicator.


para red

para red (countable and uncountable, plural para reds)


paranitraniline red

paranitraniline red (countable and uncountable, plural paranitraniline reds)

The first azo dye discovered (in 1880), which dyes cellulose fabrics a brilliant red but is not very fast.


purpurin

purpurin (countable and uncountable, plural purpurins)

A red anthraquinone dye, extracted from madder, that is used as a biological stain


bromocresol purple

(organic chemistry) A sulfonephthalein derived from a brominated derivative of cresol; it is used as an acid-base indicator


aniline green

aniline green (countable and uncountable, plural aniline greens)


archil

archil (countable and uncountable, plural archils)


erythrosin

erythrosin (countable and uncountable, plural erythrosins)

(chemistry) A red substance formed by the oxidation of tyrosin.


chrysaniline

chrysaniline (countable and uncountable, plural chrysanilines)

(organic chemistry) A yellow substance obtained as a by-product in the manufacture of rosaniline, used to dye silk a golden-yellow colour.


anchusin

Borrowed from New Latin Anchusa (“the plant alkanet”) + -in.

(organic chemistry) A resinoid colouring matter obtained from alkanet root.


barwood

barwood (countable and uncountable, plural barwoods)

From bar + wood, since it was imported from Africa in bars.

(uncountable) Red wood of a leguminous African tree, Baphia nitida, used as a dyewood and for ramrods, violin bows and turner's work.


alhenna

Borrowed from Arabic الحِنَّاء (al-ḥinnāʔ), preserving the Arabic article اَل (al-).

Lawsonia inermis
Lawsonia inermis#Translingual


almagra

almagra (usually uncountable, plural almagras)

Borrowed from Spanish almagra (more commonly almagre), from Arabic الْمُغْرَة (al-muḡra, “red clay or earth”).


carthamin

Carthamus tinctorius
Carthamus tinctorius#Translingual

(organic chemistry) A red pigment obtained from the safflower, Carthamus tinctorius.


alizari

en-noun

alizari (countable and uncountable, plural alizaris)

From French alizari (“madder root (commercial name)”), from Greek αλιζάρι (alizári, “madder”), from Ottoman Turkish آلاجهری (ala cehri).

bor

the able Holland merchants dispersed it in all the markets of Europe , after they had mixed it with the alizaris of Levant

1849, United States. Dept. of Agriculture, Annual Reports of the Department of Agriculture:

(archaic) The madder of the Levant; wild madder (Rubia peregrina).


colcothar

en-noun

colcothar (countable and uncountable, plural colcothars)

(organic chemistry, obsolete) Polishing rouge; a reddish-brown oxide of iron, used in polishing glass, and also as a pigment.


dichlorophenolindophenol

(organic chemistry) A blue chemical compound used as a redox dye.


chrysoidine

chrysoidine (countable and uncountable, plural chrysoidines)

Ancient Greek χρυσός (khrusós, “gold”) + -oid + -ine.

A yellow-orange crystalline dye, C₆H₅N₂.C₆H₃(NH₂)₂.


cudbear

cudbear (countable and uncountable, plural cudbears)

Corrupted from the name of Dr. Cuthbert Gordon, a Scotsman, who patented the process of manufacture.

ORCHELLA WEEDS. The cylindrical and flat species of Roccella used in the manufacture of Orchil or Archil, and Cudbear, are so called by the makers.

1878, Andrew Ure, Robert Hunt, Frederick William Rudler, Ure̓'s Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines: Containing a Clear Exposition of Their Principles and Practice, volume 3:

A violet-red powder, difficult to moisten with water, prepared from certain lichens, especially Ochrolechia tartarea (syn. Lecanora tartarea), and used for making violet or purple dye.


tropaeolin

tropaeolin (countable and uncountable, plural tropaeolins)

Any of several orange dyes of very complex composition: tropaeolin O (acid orange 6, chrysoine resorcinol), tropaeolin OO (acid orange 5), or tropaeolin OOO (acid orange 7).


aniline yellow

A yellow azo dye, 4-phenyldiazenylaniline


invisible green

(archaic, dyes) A very dark shade of green that is almost black.


methyl violet

(chemistry) An artificial dye consisting of certain methyl halogen derivatives of rosaniline.


rose bengal

4,5,6,7-tetrachloro-2',4',5',7'-tetraiodofluorescein, a stain whose sodium salt is commonly used in eyedrops to stain damaged cells and thereby identify damage.


French purple

French purple (usually uncountable, plural French purples)

A dyestuff obtained from certain lichen known as orchella weeds, used for colouring woollen and silken fabrics, without the aid of mordants.


mountain green

Synonym of Paris green (“pigment from copper(II) acetate and arsenic trioxide”).


urucum

Martius found most dressed in bits of clothing, their hair wildly tangled and their faces dyed red with urucum.

2006, William Bryant, The Birds of Paradise: Alfred Russel Wallace: a Life, page 67:

They paint them, or at least parts of them, with urucum (reddish) plant dye or even their own blood if there are no urucum plants nearby.

2012, Daniel Everett, Language: The Cultural Tool, Profile, published 2013, page 122:

Bixin results from lycopene oxidation and it is the main carotenoid found in the seed coat of urucum fruits (Bixa orellana L.), which is cultivated in tropical countries of South and Central America, Africa and Asia.

2013, Uchoa et al., ‘Antioxidant Properties of Singlet Oxygen Suppressors’, in Natural Antioxidants and Biocides from Wild Medicinal Plants, p. 78


argamannu

Learned borrowing from Akkadian 𒅈𒂵𒈠𒉡 (argamannu).

lbor

The least frequently used dye was argamannu, which was also red and probably produced a shade of blue-purple, although different from that of takiltu.

2006, Stefan Zawadzki, Garments of the Gods: Studies on the Textile Industry and the Pantheon of Sippar According to the Texts from the Ebabbar Archive, Volume 1:


fustin

A yellow dye obtained from fustic, Venetian sumach (Cotinus coggygria).


alder buckthorn

en-noun

alder buckthorn (plural alder buckthorns)

Frangula alnus
Frangula alnus#Translingual

A deciduous shrub, Frangula alnus, native to Europe and neighboring areas of Asia and Africa, bearing glossy leaves, flowers in sessile umbels, and inedible red berries that turn black when ripe, and historically used as a laxative and to produce dyes.


bromosulfophthalein

In case of the ex-vivo perfusion, we further assessed liver function (bile production, bromosulfophthalein clearance) and Western blot analysis of phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK), mitogen activated protein kinases family (MAPKs) and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) parameters (GRP78, PERK, IRE, eIF2α and ATF6).

2015 July 31, “Carbonic Anhydrase Protects Fatty Liver Grafts against Ischemic Reperfusion Damage”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:

A dye used in various medical tests of liver function. Abbreviated to BSP.


Perkin's mauve

Discovered in 1856 by William Henry Perkin, a chemistry student, during an attempted synthesis of quinine.


Evans blue

Named after Herbert McLean Evans, an American chemist.

(organic chemistry) An azo dye with very high affinity for serum albumin.


spirit blue

A blue aniline dye used as an indicator in agar for detection of lipase activity in bacteria.


Han purple

From Han + purple.
From being a purple pigment last used during the Han Dynasty.

barium copper disilicate
barium copper disilicate#English

A pigment made from barium copper disilicate (BaCuSi₂O₆), the first artificial purple pigment, used by Chinese for over 2 millennia before dying out at the end of the Han dynasty.

Egyptian blue

the first artificial pigment, and chemically similar to Han purple


Egyptian blue

Egyptian blue (countable and uncountable, plural Egyptian blues)

From Egyptian + blue, from being a blue invented by Ancient Egyptians.

calcium copper tetrasilicate
calcium copper tetrasilicate#English

A pigment made from calcium copper tetrasilicate (“CaCuSi₄O₁₀”), the first artificial pigment, a blue, used by Egyptians for over 3 millennia, before dying out during the Roman Empire; one of the few alternates to lapis lazuli during ancient times.

Chinese purple

the first artificial purple, one of the first artificial pigments

Prussian blue

the first artificial pigment widely used in the modern world; not an ancient pigment


choleglobin

A bile pigment that is a breakdown product of hemoglobin


takiltu

(historical) An Akkadian blue or purple dye.


cresolphthalein

cresolphthalein (countable and uncountable, plural cresolphthaleins)

(organic chemistry) A derivative of phenolphthalein used as a pH indicator


carboxyeosin

carboxyeosin (countable and uncountable, plural carboxyeosins)

(organic chemistry) Any carboxy derivative of eosin, but especially 5(6)-carboxyeosin whose diacetate is used as a fluorescent dye


sulfoindocyanine

sulfoindocyanine (countable and uncountable, plural sulfoindocyanines)

(organic chemistry) A C-sulfate derivative of indocyanine that is a fluorescent dye


Bonney's blue

Named after British gynaecological surgeon Victor Bonney (1872–1953).

(gynaecology) An antiseptic solution used to sterilise and stain the vagina, cervix and surrounding skin during gynaecological procedures, and therefore reducing postoperative infection.


dansyl amide

(organic chemistry) The fluorescent dye 5-(dimethylamino)naphthalene-1-sulfonamide


Bismarck brown

Bismarck brown (countable and uncountable, plural Bismarck browns)

Either of a pair of brown dyes, Bismarck brown R and Bismarck brown Y.


azovan blue

(organic chemistry) Synonym of Evans blue


hydrocyanine

(organic chemistry) Any of a group of dyes that can detect reactive oxygen species, reacting to form cyanine


xylochrome

xylochrome (countable and uncountable, plural xylochromes)

(archaic) A kind of dye derived from the tannin in wood.


benzophenoxazine

(organic chemistry) Any of a certain class of dyes.


brilliant green

(organic chemistry) A triarylmethane dye, closely related to malachite green, also used in solution for its antiseptic properties.


kermesic acid

(organic chemistry) A red chemical pigment from the insect kermes dye named 1-methyl-2-carboxy-3,5,6,8-tetrahydroxyanthraquinone.


carboxyrhodamine

(organic chemistry) Any of a range of rhodamine dyes that have one or two carboxylic acid substituents


Prussian red

Prussian red (countable and uncountable, plural Prussian reds)

Discovered by Prussian chemist Leopold Gmelin.

(chemistry) Potassium ferricyanide, K₃[Fe(CN)₆], a highly poisonous ferric crystal salt of potassium cyanide used as a pigment.

The colour of this compound: a hue of semi-dark brownish red


Prussian red

en-adj

Prussian red (comparative more Prussian red, superlative most Prussian red)

more Prussian red (comparative)
most Prussian red (superlative)

Prussian red:


naphthol blue

Dyestuffs produced from certain complex nitrogenous derivatives of naphthol or naphthoquinone.


iron buff

A yellow ancient artificial iron oxide made by oxidating iron in vinegar, one of the oldest man-made pigments, often used in staining textiles.


direct orange

en-noun

direct orange (countable and uncountable, plural direct oranges)


cadmium red

a pigment composed of a solution of cadmium selenide and cadmium sulfide.