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Chromonyms

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A list of 833 words by mollusque.

About

These chromonyms are defined as colors in at least one dictionary (mostly MW3). (Actually there's one fake, for reasons I'll explain someday.) They are all one-word nouns such as "kelly", which can stand alone although more usual as "kelly green". For names of two or more words, see Chromonyms 2. Palooka's Great Color Names has color adjectives and multi-word color names. Check out Colleen's chromatica too, and georgielily, who groups by color.

I've tagged single-word color names by color family: red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple, and white, brown, gray, and black.

There are many oddities in color names: tarragon and tarragona are different colors, as are aurora and aurore, winter green and wintergreen, and yellow stone and yellowstone. Melon and lemon are anagrams, as are ebon and bone, which are also antonyms. Greige and griege are anagrams and homonyms, but not synonyms. Puce and puke are different colors, that, according to OED2, are not etymologically related.

Thanks to the folks at Stevenson Hall who helped compile an early version of this list in 1980 or 1981.

Comments

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  • thesaraheffect Would rust qualify?

    Edit: read first, speak later Sep 16, 2009

  • mollusque Thanks, madmouth. I can't find anthracite defined as a color noun, but CDC1 has it as a color adjective, "coal-blank". Apr 27, 2009

  • madmouth how about anthracite? Apr 26, 2009

  • mollusque Thanks, myth. I haven't paid much attention to the color articles on Wikipedia yet. I'm still wading through MW3 and OED2, since my criterion for listing is that the color name must appear in a dictionary.

    (By the way, there are instructions for making external hyperlinks in the fine print immediately above the comment box.) Mar 23, 2009

  • myth Have you seen these for reference?
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shades_of_blue
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shades_of_green
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shades_of_yellow
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shades_of_red
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shades_of_pink
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colors

    I like that they show the actual color. I was thinking of doing something similar. It's easy to confuse colors, so it would be interesting to see the colors next to different authors' quotes. They might also be categorized by emotion. If someone is mad versus embarrassed would different shades of red get across the emotion better? Mar 23, 2009

  • mollusque Sarra, I was thinking carmine : cochineal :: scarlet : kermes, also made from scale insects. That's the only question that requires knowledge of obscure words. The others generally can be solved by scanning the list. (Jacqueminot is obscure, but the meaning is not the key to the solution.)

    Sionnach, there's a clue about the fake word on my profile. And I can sympathize now with keeping attention focused on a quiz. I'll get back to work on your Quiz Time 4, but after my performance so far, I agree with trivet: "I don't know if my brain stops at the same stations as yours".
    Dec 15, 2007

  • sarra You'll have to tell me what you had in mind, if someone else doesn't guess. Dec 14, 2007

  • mollusque 7) Cobalt is close in terms of color, but not in terms of pattern.

    8) Correct! Even better, it's not the answer I had in mind, but the analogy is exactly the same. And best, I didn't have lac on my list. Thanks, sarra! Dec 13, 2007

  • sarra 8) lac, I think.
    Oh, and 7) cobalt? Dec 13, 2007

  • sarra An intriguing quiz — I'll be reading a lot about this! Dec 12, 2007

  • mollusque Color Quiz
    1) A pair of chromonyms that are anagrams.
    2) A pair of chromonyms that are anagrams and antonyms.
    3) A pair of chromonyms that are homonyms but not synonyms.
    4) A chromonym that changes to another by adding a letter.
    5) A chromonym made obsolete by technology.
    6) A chromonym that is a Wordie's screen name.
    7) black : jet :: blue : ?
    8) carmine : cochineal :: scarlet : ?
    9) red : jacqueminot :: green : ?
    10) Which word on this list is a fake (not defined as a color in a dictionary)? Hint: the word was already on Wordie when I listed it.

    Some of these have more than one answer.
    Dec 12, 2007

  • mollusque Thanks for reminding me, sionnach! I planted that seed when I first created the list, but then forgot about it. And it's perfect that you are the one to remind me, because it's time for a Color Quiz! Dec 12, 2007

  • sionnach Which is the fake? Enquiring minds need to know. Dec 11, 2007

  • palooka What a list! Favorited. Nov 6, 2007