colourcolorn.1
/ˈkʌlə/, U.S. /ˈkələr/ I. A hue or tint, and related senses.
1.
a. Any of the constituents into which light can be separated as in a spectrum or rainbow, and which are referred to by names such as blue, red, yellow; any particular mixture of these constituents; a particular hue or tint.In referring to the appearance of objects, black and white, in which light is respectively wholly absorbed and wholly reflected, are included among the colours.Also used contextually of a hue or tint different from the prevailing one (cf. quot. 1848).absinthe, brick-, cherry-, complementary, dove-, honey, lemon-, liturgical, mushroom, plum, primary, secondary, simple, tan-, wine colour, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > [noun] > a colour
bleec888
hue971
colourc1300
lita1325
tincture1477
tainture1490
taint1567
distain1581
complexion1597
tinct1604
tint1716
tinto1739
hwe-
c1300 St. Patrick's Purgatory (Laud) l. 562 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 216 He..axede him of ȝwuch colur were heuene op-riȝt þere.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 15 Muskles..haueþ wiþ ynne hem margery perles of alle manere colour and hewe, of rody and rede, of purpur [?a1475 anon. tr. a purpulle coloure] and of blew.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9913 Thre colurs [Fairf. colours, Gött. colouris] o sun-dri heu.
1483 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 89074) (1881) 86/1 A Culoure, color... Of diuerse color, discolor.
1552–3 Inv. Ch. Goods Staffordsh. in Ann. Litchfield IV. 60 One cope of dyvers colowres of sylke.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 167 He changeth..like the Chamæleon, to al colours of the Rainebowe.
1599 F. Thynne Animaduersions (1875) 48 Darkyshe Coolor.
a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Two Noble Kinsmen (1634) ii. ii. 130 This is a pretty colour, wilt not doe Rarely upon a Skirt wench? View more context for this quotation
1672 I. Newton in Philos. Trans. 1671 (Royal Soc.) 6 3081 Colours are..Original and connate properties, which in divers Rays are divers.
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 155 The best sort of barley..is of a pale lively yellow colour.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) II. 64 Two extreme colours, white and black.
1840 Med. Examiner 5 Dec. 780/1 These evacuations are sometimes of a rhubarb colour; more generally of the colour of yolk of egg.
1848 J. Lindley Gloss. Techn. Terms Bot. p. xxiv/2 Colour, any colour except green; in technical Botany white is regarded as a colour, and green is not.
1873 W. Black Princess of Thule x. 171 Deeper and deeper grew the colour of the sun.
1933 A. W. Barton Text Bk. Heat xv. 340 If a ray of sunlight is passed through a prism..the white light is not only deviated but also split up into the colours of the rainbow.
1977 Time 4 July 6/3 The new Soviet President let it be known that he was not pleased with the color of the trim on the wagon's seats.
1999 Sunday People 26 Sept. 36/2 Yellow is my favourite colour because it's vibrant and not girlie.
2001 R. Nicoll White Male Heart (2002) 84 I couldn't for the life of me decide what colour to paint the bathroom.
b. Heraldry. Any of the major conventional colours used as tinctures in coats of arms (gules, vert, sable, azure, purpure), as opposed to the metals, furs, and stains.The distinction between colours and stains has not always been maintained: see quots. 1610 and 1845.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > [noun] > heraldic tincture
colourc1475
stain1586
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > heraldic tincture > [noun] > colour
colourc1475
c1475 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 324 (MED) There he [read be] but..v colours yn all blasyng of armes, that ys to say..sabylls, aser, gowles, synaper, and vertecolers.
c1500 Sc. Poem Heraldry (Harl. 6149) 177 in F. J. Furnivall Queene Elizabethes Achademy (1869) i. 100 Ȝhit sum haldis in armis ij certane thingis, Nothir metallis nor colouris to blasoune, Ermyne and werr, callit panis, bestly furring, And haldin so without other discripcioune.
a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 420 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 108 Off metallis and colouris in tentfull atyre.
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie i. iii. 11 The last of the seuen mixed colors, we doe commonly call Murrey, but in Blazon, Sanguine.
1659 O. Walker Περιαμμα Ἐπιδήμιον v. §10. 96 Colour upon Colour is ill Heraldry.
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Perwinkle, (In Heraldry) has been made use of by the Inventors of a new Way of Blazon by Flowers and Herbs, instead of Metals and Colours, to supply the word Azure.
1766 M. A. Porny Elem. Heraldry Gloss. Compony, a Word applied to a Bordure, Pale, Bend, or other ordinary, made up of squares of alternate metals and Colors.
1845 M. A. Lower Curiosities Heraldry 313 The stainant or disgraceful colours, tenné and sanguine.
1866 J. E. Cussans Gram. Heraldry 9 Tinctures, which comprise Metals, Colours, and Furs.
1907 G. W. Eve Heraldry as Art iii. 48 Here it may be noted that a field may be party of two metals or of two colours, for the general rule against colour being placed upon colour or metal on metal does not apply in these cases.
1988 T. Woodcock & J. M. Robinson Oxf. Guide to Heraldry iv. 51 It does not distinguish between colours and metals, and lists them as Or, Azure, Argent, Gules, Sable, Vert, and Purpure.
c. figurative and in figurative contexts.
ΚΠ
1542 T. Becon Christmas Bankette sig. E.iiijv I wyl lyuely paynte in moost enuident colours and set it out before your eies wt certayne histories of bothe Testamentes.
1576 A. Fleming tr. G. Macropedius in Panoplie Epist. 377 To paint out that puisaunt Prince, in such lively colours as hee deserveth.
1633 P. Fletcher Purple Island vii. lvii. 99 In his face red heat, and ashie cold Strove which should paint revenge in proper colours.
1679 G. Rose tr. P. Boaistuau Theatre of World ii. 147 Depainting them out in lively colours.
1769 W. Robertson Hist. Charles V II. iv. 241 He painted in the strongest colours the Emperor's want of discernment.
1824 London Lit. Gaz. 14 Aug. 518/1 One of them..described, in very lively colours, the beginning and progress oif it.
1849 G. Grote Hist. Greece VI. ii. xlviii. 205 The bright colours, and tone of cheerful confidence, which pervade the discourse.
1914 Blackwood's Mag. Jan. 109/2 They give us drabs and subfuscs instead of the glowing colours of life.
1978 I. Berlin Russ. Thinkers 59 Zhikharev..met Maistre in 1807, and described him in glowing colours.
2002 D. Hamilton in A. Edwards et al. Rethinking Teacher Educ. viii. 135 The authors have adopted a very broad canvas. Their ideas are expressed in many colours and shades.
d. A colour, or each of a combination of colours, which is distinctive or symbolic of an institution or group, as a school, political party, or street gang. Cf. senses 14, 19a.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > [noun] > colours > of school, club, or team
colour1577
house colour1867
school colour1876
1577 R. Willes tr. G. Pereira in R. Willes & R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Hist. Trauayle W. & E. Indies f. 250 The kyng hath moe than a thousand of his kynne lodged in great pallaces, in diuers partes of the citie: theyr gates be redde, and the entrye into theyr houses, that they may be knowen, for that is the kyng his colour.
1670 J. Wilson Summe of Treat. 11 in Treat. Relig. & Governm. A man is more engaged to stick to the King by a red scarf, or a garniture of ribands of the Kings colours, then by an oath of so incredible a thing as the Supremacy.
1717 J. Hughes tr. Suetonius Lives XII. Cæsars II. 493 Giving his servants a livery of the Imperial Colour.
1771 Town & Country Mag. 3 Suppl. 677/1 Instead of hats, they wear broad crowned caps of black velvet, decked with ribbons of the king's colour.
1837 G. W. Cooke Hist. Party III. xiv. 344 (note) The ladies, as well as the men, appeared dressed in the party colours.
1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond I. xii. 284 When heads of families fall out..their dependents wear the one or the other party's colour.
1884 Chinese Recorder Oct. 335 He then proceeded to abolish red as the imperial colour which had prevailed in the Cheu dynasty and changed it for black.
1905 Burlington Mag. July 283/2 Papal legates also used the papal colour.
1922 R. Pertwee Men of Affairs vi. 48 ‘Remembered his tie for instance.’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Old Etonian colours,’ said Brown.
1987 N.Y. Times (Nexis) xi. 23/1 Even going so far as to paint their faces blue and gold, which are the school's colors.
1999 M. Webb Coping with Street Gangs 133 If you know the gang colors in your city, don't wear them. Then nobody will mistake you for a gang member.
2002 M. Pugh Making Mod. Brit. Politics (ed. 3) i. 7 Millions of people wore ribbons and rosettes in party colours.
2.
a. The hue of a person's skin, typically of the face, esp. as reflecting or indicating physical health or emotional state (cf. to change colour at Phrases 1); a person's complexion. Cf. off-colour adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > skin > complexion > [noun]
bleea1225
huec1275
colourc1300
complexion1580
reward1673
c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 16 (MED) He was whit so þe flur, Rose red was his colur.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 566 In þe worlde her pere nas, So ȝwit ne of suich color.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 58v (MED) Þu shal knowe bi defaylyng pulse And by pale colour.
1450 J. Gresham in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 51 Þerwith he turned pale colour.
a1500 (?a1400) Morte Arthur (1903) l. 2816 The blode alle coueryd hys coloure.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) xliii. 144 His coloure was sum what pale.
1599 George a Greene sig. B2 His colour looketh discontent.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. iv. 23 Your pulsidge beates as extraordinarily as heart would desire, and your colour I warrant you is as red as any rose. View more context for this quotation
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 153 In Persia the womens pale colour is made sanguine by adulterate complexion.
1762 F. Sheridan Hist. Nourjahad 45 His speech faltered, and his colour changed. Schemzeddin saw his confusion.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. x. 94 His colour has turned to a livid white.
a1911 D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) II. iv. 65 She had not even good health to mitigate her lot, for her color was pasty and on her dirty skin lay blotches of dull red.
1947 J. Symons Man called Jones 69 The Art Director was not looking well this morning. His colour was bad, and he had apparently cut his face while shaving.
2010 Internat. Herald Tribune (Nexis) 1 July 8 Her fatigue went away. She walked and climbed stairs more easily, and the color in her face brightened.
b. Rosiness or ruddiness of the complexion as an indication of health or well-being.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > skin > complexion > redness > [noun] > with health
rudOE
colourc1330
ruddinessa1398
rosec1425
livelihood1566
glowa1616
quickness1656
c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 4540 (MED) Wiþ-outen colour his neb he seþ For þe blod he hadde for-lore.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 881 (MED) He cast al his colour and bi-com pale.
a1425 (?a1350) Seven Sages (Galba) (1907) l. 2084 (MED) Þe whife lost bath colore and might.
?1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton ii. sig. fiiij They..lesen theyr colour and becomen sone olde.
1540 J. Palsgrave tr. G. Gnapheus Comedye of Acolastus v. i. sig. Xivv Hauynge his coloure quyte gone out of his chekes.
1583 R. Greene Mamillia 69 It was not the colour in her cheekes, but the conditions of her mind; not her comelinesse, but her curtesie, not her person, but her perfection that inchaunted me.
1687 A. Behn Luckey Chance i. iii. 12 I wou'd not let the young Wenches look pale and wan—but wou'd rouse 'em, and touse 'em, and blowze 'em, 'till I put a Colour in their Cheeks.
1697 J. Vanbrugh Relapse iii. 49 I need not ask you how you do, you have got so good a Colour.
1749 S. Fielding Governess 24 She had..as much Colour in her Cheeks as is th natural Effect of perfect Health.
1815 Madame Ney Let. in I. Bruce Nun of Lebanon (1951) iv. xxvii. 349 It will be excellent for your health, this lovely country will bring back the colour you had a College.
1856 W. Collins Rogue's Life in Househ. Words 29 Mar. 252/2 I saw her colour beginning to come back—the old bright glow returning to the..dusky cheeks.
1900 S. J. Weyman Story Francis Cludde (new ed.) iv. 41 His color fled, his cheeks grew pendulous.
1940 C. Stead Man who loved Children ix. 446 A spot of shopping would pep her up and give her a bit of colour in her cheeks.
2000 S. M. Warsh To die in Spring vii. 57 I know what'll put some colour back into those cheeks. What do you say we go for some Chinese.
c. Redness of the face produced by blushing, a flush of anger, etc.
ΚΠ
1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xlv. 254v Then a little shamefast colour, began to renew her Alablaster cheekes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. ii. 76 The colour of the King doth come, and go Betweene his purpose and his conscience. View more context for this quotation
1708 London Gaz. No. 4427/16 A little pock-fretten, sometimes a colour in his Face.
1751 R. Paltock Life Peter Wilkins I. xvi. 168 I will rather guess at that, by what I have seen, than raise the Colour higher in those fair Cheeks.
1778 F. Burney Let. 27 Aug. in Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1994) III. 109 Miss Burney is really modest about her Book, for her Colour comes and goes every time it is mentioned.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Gardener's Daughter in Poems (new ed.) II. 28 A word could bring the colour to my cheek.
1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ Valerie's Fate iii The quick color that sprang to her cheek at his words.
1921 Munsey's Mag. Nov. 230/2 She held herself calmly, but the color came and went revealingly in her cheeks.
1984 Times 18 Apr. 12/7 Innocent enquiries about the logic of taxing oil and its derivatives..raised the colour in his cheeks.
2001 P. Tremayne Smoke in Wind (2003) iv. 42 ‘I was a friend of Mair,’ the girl said hesitantly, the colour rising in her cheeks.
3.
a. The quality or attribute by virtue of which something appears to have a colour, so that it may present different appearances to the observer regardless of shape, size, and texture; the sensation corresponding to this, now recognized as dependent on the wavelengths of the light reaching the eye.The colour of an object depends on the way it selectively absorbs light incident on it, and also on the nature of the incident light. Because sight is mediated by nerve impulses from the eye to the brain, a sensation of colour can also be produced by other means, such as pressure on the eyeball or stimulation of the neural pathways between the eye and the brain.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > [noun]
coloura1398
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. viii. 1281 Colour acordeþ to light, as þe doughter to þe moder.
?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Div Colour is lyght incorporate in a body visyble, pure & clene.
1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. 71 This part of light that is vpon thicke bodies, is called colour.
1663 R. Boyle Exper. & Consider. Colours ii. 10 Colour may be considered, either as it is a quality residing in the body that is said to be coloured, or to modifie the light after such or such a manner; or else as the Light it self, which so modifi'd, strikes upon the organ of sight, and so causes that Sensation, which we call Colour.
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) iv. viii, 364 The discursives of moral good and evil, just, unjust,..are no more perceptible to Sense than Colour is to the Ear.
1764 T. Reid Inq. Human Mind vi. v. 179 Philosophers affirm that colour is not in bodies but in the mind; and the vulgar affirm that colour is not in the mind, but is a quality of bodies.
1817 N. Amer. Rev. May 80 The consideration of colour in classifying minerals, is of some importance.
1857 J. Ruskin Elements Drawing iii. 219 It is not enough..that colour should be gradated by being made merely paler or darker at one place than another.
1890 J. H. Stirling Philos. & Theol. 349 As you may wash away all colour from a clot of blood [etc.].
1949 Our Industry (Anglo-Iranian Oil Co.) (ed. 2) xiii. 291 Colour is important from an appearance point of view. Gas oil should be clear and bright, and Diesel oils are frequently dark coloured.
1971 F. Alderson New ‘Grand Tour’ 67 These packed alleyways shout with garish colour,..whole walls of aniline-dyed carpet or acid-hued brocade.
2002 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Nexis) 17 Apr. 11 The first look is all about colour, from green or blue eyeshadow to rose-stained lips.
b. Art, Printing, Photography, Film, and Television. Frequently with in. The state or quality of being in a colour other than a shade of grey (or brown, or any single colour); the reproduction of colours in a book, magazine, etc.; the use of colours in a drawing or painting; the reproduction and display of coloured photographic, and television, and digital images. Frequently attributive (see Compounds 1e). Contrasted with black and white n. 1a, 1c, monochrome n. 2b.See also colour picture n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > [adjective] > colour
heliochromic1855
photochromatic1856
isochromatic1884
photo-trichromatic1896
colour1898
Lippmann1902
panchromatic1903
Lumière1907
lenticular1936
1790 T. Egerton & J. Egerton Catal. Bks., including Libr. W. Young 33 A Collection of Plans of Islands in various Parts of the World, very neatly drawn, in colour, with descriptions in manuscript, 7s 6d.
1800 Gentleman's Mag. Oct. 998/2 About five feet from the ground, there is a Virgin and child, with Joseph bending over them, well preserved, and tolerably executed in colour.
1873 H. Cullwick Diaries (1984) 77 I kep' the cards he gave me, & he also gave me a likeness of himself in colour, & he's exceedingly good-looking I think, & I've put him in my album.
1898 Photogr. Times Dec. 555/1 Claims..for a practical process of photographing in color.
1923 Amer. Cinematographer Jan. 4 Will color actually prove an asset to dramatic motion pictures?
1966 S. Sontag Against Interpr. 210 The film I have just described should be in color and on a wide screen.
1981 J. Monaco How to read Film (rev. ed.) Appendix III 504 1954 January 1. NBC broadcasts Festival of Roses parade in color.
2007 Sunday Times Trav. May 32/4 If you're using digital, most cameras have a setting that allows you to shoot in monochrome instead of colour.
4.
a. Pigmentation of the skin, typically as an indication of someone's race or ethnicity; spec. dark skin, as opposed to white or fair skin (frequently in of colour at Phrases 11).
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > [noun] > racial characteristic
colour?a1425
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 24 Þe folk þat wones in þat cuntree er called Numidianes..þai er blakk of colour.
a1450 Mandeville's Trav. (Bodl. e Mus.) 35 (MED) The folk..aryn blake of colour for the ouergret hete that is there and brennynge of the sonne.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 311 The people of the newe World were cauled Indians because they are of the same colour of the Easte Indians.
1584 A. Barlowe in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) 732 Other then these, there was neuer any people apparelled, or white of colour, either seene, or heard of amongst these people.
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. xxix. 53/2 The children of Mestiços are of colour and fashion like the naturall borne Countrimen.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 192 The people differ not in colour nor condition, from the other..but their Funerals dissent from the rest.
1668 P. Rycaut Present State Ottoman Empire (new ed.) i. v. 28 This Sultan doth many times appoint dayes of combat between the Black Eunuchs and some of his White Pages on Horse-back,..each side contending for the honour of his colour, race and dignity.
1742 J. Atkins Navy Surgeon (new ed.) Table of Contents Suggestions concerning the Colour of Negroes.
1790 J. Meares Voyages iii. 27 That religion which opens wide its arms to the whole human race, of every colour, and under every clime.
1798 J. Ferriar Illustr. Sterne ii. 43 Discussion of the causes of colour in negroes.
1842 F. Marryat Percival Keene II. i. 47 There were several of my colour on board—runaway slaves—and all good, determined men.
1868 Proc. & Deb. Constit. Conv. State N.Y. I. 248/1 It is a question of color simply—of an unfounded and unworthy prejudice.
1937 H. Jennings et al. May 12th Mass-observ. Day-surveys i. i. 62 The position of having to refuse accommodation to coloured people because of their colour has never arisen.
1985 Economist 13 Apr. 78/3 Civil rights laws that compel American companies at home to bar discrimination at work based on race, religion, colour or sex.
2002 C. Newland Snakeskin v. 54 Most black people in the UK are self-conscious of their colour in a working environment, scared they may be seen as ‘too black’.
b. A group of people considered as being distinguished by skin pigmentation. Also (offensive): black or other dark-skinned people collectively (now rare). Cf. race n.6 1d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > [noun]
race1774
colour1838
1838 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 1 Oct. What is Fanny Wright's and Mackenzie's liberty and equality but liberty and equality for all races, colors, and creeds?
1838 R. Southey Doctor V. 200 Oh pitiable condition of human kind! One colour is born to slavery abroad, and one sex to shavery [sic] at home!
1867 H. Latham Black & White 114 No territories shall be admitted as States in which there is not an equal suffrage of all races and colours.
1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 20 Jan. 2/1 Loudly did he bewail the difficulty of making ‘the colour’ stick to work.
1900 Daily Chron. 19 Nov. 3/3 The door should be opened, however slightly, to colour in Natal.
1958 L. van der Post Lost World of Kalahari (1964) iii. 60 I am certain it was the mechanism of a spirit haunted in this sense that was so intensely at work among us all no matter what our race or colour.
1977 R. Coover Public Burning 437 Everybody jamming up together, old and young, great and small, of all creeds, colors, and sexes.
2000 I. Pattison Stranger here Myself (2001) i. 16 Call me a dreamer but I can see a world where people of all races, creeds and colours will live together in harmony because they don't give a toss about each other.
5. † b. The representation of variations in colour by varying contrasts of light and dark in an engraving or other monochrome work. Obsolete.
a. Art. The general effect produced by all the colours of a picture; colouring.Recorded earliest in dead colour n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > art of colouring > [noun] > general effect or scheme
colour1661
colouring1706
natural colour1720
coloration1778
palette1782
tonality1866
scheme1884
colour tone1896
1661 S. Pepys Diary 13 Dec. (1970) II. 233 There she sat the first time to be drawn..The dead colour of my wife is good, above what I expected.
1783 Ann. Reg. 1782 149/2 We cannot entirely refuse to Titian the merit of attending to the general form of his object, as well as colour.
1801 H. Fuseli Lect. Painting I. ii. 94 The tizianesque colour of Hans Holbein.
1812 Examiner 25 May 328/2 His chiaro-scuro and colour are..spread with so much amenity, that..harmony is the result.
1851 J. Ruskin Stones of Venice I. App. xvii. 392 No colour is so noble as the colour of a good painting.
1907 J. W. Cruickshank & A. M. Cruickshank Umbrian Cities of Italy I. i. iii. 72 The gaiety and purity of his colour, the power and simplicity of his line, the directness and force of his design.
1999 New Yorker 19 July 17/1 Moreau's works—with their combination of drawing and painting, tenebrous chiaroscuro and jewellike color—look fresher now than many Impressionist canvases.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > [noun] > representation of colour
coloura1806
a1806 J. Barry in R. N. Wornum Lect. on Painting (1848) 219 What is called the colour of a print..the phrase is improper and inaccurate... What those meant who first adopted the phrase is, the chiaroscuro, or light and dark, in contradistinction to mere light and shade.
1869 Daily News 22 Dec. By his manner of etching he [sc. Cruikshank] is able to produce the most admirable effects of what engravers call ‘colour’.
c. Typography. The relative darkness or blackness of the appearance of printed text, resulting from the thickness and size of the type and the amount of interlinear space.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [noun] > qualities of print
colour1808
rub resistance1939
1808 C. Stower Printer's Gram. vii. 211 It is a rule with careful pressmen, not to give proofs a high colour.
1888 J. Southward in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 710/1 Comparing the old face and the modern characters, the latter are more regular in size, lining, setting, and colour.
1898 J. Southward Mod. Printing I. xxii. 141 The proportion of the thick to the thin strokes constitutes what typefounders call the colour of the letter.
1959 S. Morison Typogr. Design 25 The result is a quality of colour and inking that is specific to the hand press inasmuch as it has depth.
2006 V. Squire Getting It Right with Type i. 34 One may, at a glance, quickly judge the colour, or grey value, of a typeface using such a text.
d. Attractive or interesting appearance imparted by vividness or variety of colour; colourful quality or character.
ΚΠ
1815 La Belle Assemblée June 276/2 The fair and young, who, in splendid and diversified attire, add colour to the flowery parterre.
1838 H. G. Knight Normans in Sicily xi. 227 The balconies are usually filled with flowers, or shaded with striped verandas, which add colour and richness to the scene.
1895 Jrnl. Hort. & Pract. Gardening 30 5/1 At the time of writing this two clumps of C. longiflorus are nearly all that are in flower, but the lilac and yellow displayed on the outer segments of the closed flowers give a bit of welcome colour.
1968 Northwest Arkansas Times 6 July 4/2 Various riding clubs and quadrilles provided color with matched outfits.
2006 Saltscapes (Canada) Mar.–Apr. 86/2 There will also be violets and Johnny-jump-ups to add some colour.
6. In phrenology: the faculty or organ by which a person distinguishes or perceives colour. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > nervous system > cerebrospinal axis > brain > [noun] > faculties of
self-esteem1815
colour1819
vitativeness1843
1815 J. G. Spurzheim Physiognom. Syst. i. viii. 440 Order then may be applied to various other faculties, to form, size, weight, colour, things, &c.]
1819 Gentleman's Mag. 89 Suppl. Part II. 609/2 Arrangement of Cerebral Organs;..28. Form. 29. Colour. 30. Musick. 31. Order. 32. Calculation. 33. Size. 34. Causality.
1861 A. Bain Study Char. vi. 186 It is presumed that Tune gives the sense of musical concord, Colour the feeling of well-assisted tints in a painting.
1890 Mary O. Stanton Syst. Physiog. I. 410 Color is a primitive faculty.
1909 Phrenol. Jrnl. 117 313 The faculty is located on the outer corner of the arch of the eyebrow, between Color and Calculation, in the inferior frontal convolution and beneath the frontal bone.
II. Figurative senses.
* Senses relating to outward appearance.† 10. Fair or reasonable excuse; good reason; justification. Also: an instance of this. Obsolete.
7. Law.
a. Apparent or de facto legal authority or status, esp. as opposed to that actually granted or established. Frequently with negative connotations, suggesting that the authority is used as a pretext for illegal or corrupt behaviour (cf. sense 8). Chiefly in colour of authority, colour of law, colour of office. Now chiefly U.S.In negative use frequently overlapping with Phrases 2c, Phrases 2b.
ΚΠ
a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) v. 14 Ant alse hit is..ipurueid þat non escheitur, ne non oþer [kinges] baillif, þoru colur of his offiz, biþoute special warant, oþer commaundement, oþer certein auctorite þat appendez to his offiz, ne deseise no man of his fre tenement, ne of þing þat appendez to his fre tenement.
1579 Rastell's Expos. Termes Lawes (new ed.) f. 43/1 Colour of office, is alwaies taken in ye worst part, & signifieth an act euel done, by the countenance of an office, and it beareth a dissemblinge face of the right office.
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Dd4/1 Shyreeues, Maiors, Baylifes, Escheatours, and other officers whatsoeuer, that by colour of their office worke great oppression, and excessiue wrong vnto the Kings subiects.
1689 J. Collier Vindiciae Juris Regii 15 Before this Grant, the Subjects had no colour of Authority to Levy Arms against the King.
1722 Abridgem. Publick Laws Virginia 23 No Sheriff or Deputy shall by Colour of Office take Obligation of any but by the Name of his Office.
1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. 141 Extortion..consists in any officer's unlawfully taking, by colour of his office, from any man, any money or thing of value, that is not due to him, or more than is due, or before it is due.
1797 Acts 21st Gen. Ass. State New-Jersey dclxvi. 232 Proceedings done under colour of office shall be absolutely void.
1842 Emancipator & Free Amer. (Boston) 1 Dec. To forbid any person holding office under any law of this state from in any way officially or under color of office, aiding or abetting the arrest or detention of any person claimed as a fugitive from slavery.
1899 Supreme Court Reporter (U.S.) 19 646/2 The courts will not permit its corporate character to be questioned, if it appears to be acting under color of law, and recognized by the state as such.
1914 Judicial & Statutory Definitions Words & Phrases 2nd Ser. I. 763/1 One acting as judge in a new Judicial district before the law establishing it has become operative..is a de facto judge having color of authority, and his acts are valid as to third persons and the public.
1965 P. S. Foner Hist. Labor Movement U.S. (1997) IV. xi. 266 He charged the private detective with assault under color of his authority as an officer.
2001 Washington Post (Nexis) 3 Aug. b1 That jury acquitted [the officer]..of the charge of deprivation of rights under color of law.
b. An apparent or prima facie right or title. Frequently with of, esp. in colour of right, colour of title.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > [noun] > apparent right
colour1528
1528–30 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. xxxiiii He hathe coloure of entre as heyre to his father.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 175 Robert de Bruce..although he had some colour of title, yet he discended of the second daughter..and so his clayme tooke no place.
1659 J. Harrington Art of Law-giving ii. i. 10 In which words all color of appeal from the seventy Elders is excluded.
1700 Law Ejectm. xiv. 250 Farr did this with intent to take away the Goods, and had no colour of Title to the House for his Client.
1811 W. P. Taunton Rep. Court Common Pleas 2 309 Those who tortiously took the goods without colour of right.
1886 F. W. Maitland in Law Q. Rev. Oct. 483 Possession coupled with..good faith and colour of title..would have certain legal effects.
1911 J. B. Green Law for Amer. Farmer v. 43 Color of title should not be confounded with claim of title; they are different things.
1972 Times 7 Mar. 12/2 [The provisions] did not give any colour of right to a prisoner to have anything provided for him free.
2004 Yale Law & Policy Rev. 22 420 In some states, adverse possession may include some of the following additional requirements: payment of property taxes, ‘color of title’, and good faith by the adverse possessor.
c. A plausible but in reality false plea intended to make the point to be decided appear to be one of law and not of fact and hence a matter for the decision of the judge rather than the jury. Also in extended use. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > [noun] > a pleading or plea > false plea
colour1531
1531 St. German's Secunde Dyaloge Doctour & Student (new ed.) liv. f. cxlvi The playntyfe claymynge in by a colour of a dede of feoffemente.
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 89 Hee wil giue colour to the plaintife, and apply the reason vsed agaynste priuate masse by the proclamer.
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Q1v/2 Colour (Color) signifieth in the common law, a probable plee, but in truth false, and hath this end, to draw the triall of the cause from the Iury to the Iudges.
1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. 309 An appearance or colour of title, bad indeed in point of law, but of which the jury are not competent judges.
1806 E. Lawes Elem. Treat. Pleading in Civil Actions vi. 129 It is observable that in all cases where the defence consists of matter of law, the plaintiff may be said to have an implied colour of action.
1847 Law Jrnl. Rep. 16 It..gives express colour to the plaintiff, and states his possession at the time of the trespasses under a charter of demise without livery.
1959 Earl Jowitt & C. Walsh Dict. Eng. Law I. 410/1 Express colour was abolished by the Common Law Procedure Act, 1852, s. 64: implied colour, which had been known to the law for over five hundred years, disappeared when the Judicature Act, 1873, came into force.
8. Outward appearance; show, aspect, or semblance of something, esp. as justifying a particular judgment, course of action, etc. Frequently, esp. in later use, with the implication that the appearance is false and used as a pretext. Now chiefly in legal contexts (see sense 7a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > [noun] > seeming
semblant?c1225
coloura1325
countenance1362
appearancec1386
seemc1440
fair seeming1484
resemblant1485
seeming1576
apparition1613
semblancea1616
imposture1643
verisimile1652
seemingness1656
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > [noun]
hue971
glozea1300
showingc1300
coloura1325
illusionc1340
frontc1374
simulationc1380
visage1390
cheera1393
sign?a1425
countenance?c1425
study?c1430
cloak1526
false colour1531
visure1531
face1542
masquery?1544
show1547
gloss1548
glass1552
affectation1561
colourableness1571
fashion1571
personage?1571
ostentation1607
disguise1632
lustrementa1641
grimace1655
varnish1662
masquerade1674
guisea1677
whitewash1730
varnish1743
maya1789
vraisemblance1802
Japan1856
veneering1865
veneer1868
affectedness1873
candy coating1885
simulance1885
window dressing1903
a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) x. 64 Þat no religious..ani londes ore tenemens buche ne sulle, ore þoru ani colur of ȝifte..oþer on ani maner þoru art ore engin nimen an honde to hoem to apropri.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 6409 (MED) King Knout þoȝte hou he miȝte best..binime hom hor eritage & mid woch wrong he miȝte..bote he adde some colour of riȝte.
c1330 in T. Wright Polit. Songs Eng. (1839) 336 Al his contrefaiture is colour of sinne.
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) f. 85v (MED) How þou mayst wiþ faire colour wiþ drawe þe, ȝif þou list nouȝt to fiȝte.
?1529 Proper Dyaloge Gentillman & Husbandman sig. B vij This hath no coloure of almesse.
1597 F. Bacon (title) A table of coulers, or apparances of good and euill.
1642 J. March Argument Militia 22 To defend them, without any colour of Law, or justice.
1674 in W. G. S. Moncrieff Rec. Proc. Justiciary Court Edinb. (1905) II. 221 Farder to evidence that there is not the least collour of theft or oppression [etc.].
1707 Ld. Godolphin Let. 22 Aug. in H. L. Snyder Marlborough–Godolphin Corr. (1975) II. 889 I think then there is no colour of reason for not giving the oath to those people.
1754 Bp. T. Sherlock Disc. (1759) I. x. 296 With what Colour of Reason can the pretended Miracles be brought into this Question?
a1777 S. Foote Nabob (1778) ii. 50 They gain us those ends in spite and defiance of law, which, with a proper agent, may here be obtained under the pretence and colour of law.
1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. i. ix. 218 The general heads of breaches of privilege..are these three: 1st Evasion, 2nd Force, 3rd Colour of Law.
1891 F. Tennyson Daphne 462 I only sought For means to compass my delights, and give Colour of reason to my dark resolve.
1941 D. R. Oakley-Hill Plan for Revolt (P.R.O.: HS5/63) in Englishman in Albania (2002) 250 This [action]..would at once give the movement the colour of a general revolt.
1980 J. Gage tr. J. W. von Goethe in Goethe on Art i. 49 That is just the trouble, when good minds get hold of such false principles, which have only a colour of truth, and expand on them.
9. A specious reason, ground, or argument; a pretext. Also in non-count use. Cf. Phrases 2, Phrases 6. Now somewhat archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > [noun] > motive > specious motive or pretext
coloura1393
coverturec1440
pretexta1535
pretencea1538
stalking-horse1579
stale1580
face1647
stooping-horse1659
stall1851
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > [noun] > specious quality > statement exhibiting
coloura1393
plausible1654
plausibility1660
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. l. 1874 (MED) Envie of such colour Hath yit the ferthe deceivant, The which is cleped Falssemblant.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vi. xix. 319 He desiriþ to haue..colour to take sumwhat be extorsioun.
1429 in J. A. Kingdon Arch. Worshipful Company of Grocers (1886) II. 190 Þt no man selle no ware vppon no sonday nor vppon none haly-daye..by no maner off colour þt may be devysed.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Arun. 396) (1893) iv. l. 1426 (MED) Al his treson with colouris to defende.
1506 in J. Bain & C. Rogers Glasgow Protocol Reg. (1875) 162 [I undertake] neuer..to tribule..nor inquiet the forsaidis Iohne..be na maner of way, fraude nor coloure.
1592 R. Greene Quip for Vpstart Courtier sig. G3v You carrie your packe but for a coulour to shadow your other villanies.
a1625 J. Fletcher Valentinian iv. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Cccccccv/2 What has Aecius done to be destroyd? At least I would have a colour. Pro. Ye have more..he is a Traitor.
1701 Ld. Godolphin Let. 9 Sept. in H. L. Snyder Marlborough–Godolphin Corr. (1975) I. 31 There is not the least colour to imagine that this Parliament won't bee more engaged than any other whatsoever to make good their assurances in that address.
1765 E. Burke Let. 10 Apr. in Corr. (1958) I. 189 No man should have even a colour to assert that I received a compensation.
1774 J. Campbell Polit. Surv. Brit. II. 399 This Vow..hath been supposed to be no more than a political Colour; but it is very likely to have been a real Motive.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. iv. v. 166 An enterprise..which..afforded a colour for detaining the troops.
1855 Law Chron. Apr. 365/2 The transfer was only a colour for an advance of money.
1991 A. J. Pollard Richard III & Princes in Tower (1997) 101 It was but the colour for an act of usurpation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > [noun] > motive > specious motive or pretext > alleged motive or excuse
occasiona1398
pretencec1425
colour?1435
excuse1494
allegation1614
pretension1624
umbrage1634
?1435 in C. L. Kingsford Chrons. London (1905) 28 (MED) For as myche as they shulde seme to have som colour and auctoryte in her doynges.
a1450 Complaint J. Brome in Warwickshire Antiquarian Mag. (1869) 4 181 (MED) Without grounde, cause, or colour.
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 144 Hauynge no colour off grochynge.
a1500 (?c1378) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 432 Ȝif a prest myȝte be two men..it were to hym a coulur to take ful hire of two men.
a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) i. xix. sig. E.viv In these two thynges maye you catche moste coloure to compare the welthye mans merite with the meryte of tribulacion.
a1625 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Knight of Malta i. i, in Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Iiiii4/1 Did I attempt her with a thred-bare name..She might with colour dis-allow my suit.
1724 A. Collins Disc. Grounds Christian Relig. 208 For which he has as little Colour, as the Samaritans themselves.
** Senses relating to character or nature.
11. General character or disposition; nature, kind. Also: †an instance of this (obsolete). Cf. complexion n. 7a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > [noun]
kindeOE
i-cundeOE
mannera1225
jetc1330
colour1340
hair1387
estrete1393
gendera1398
hedea1400
savourc1400
stockc1450
toucha1500
rate1509
barrel1542
suit1548
fashion1562
special1563
stamp1573
family1598
garb1600
espece1602
kidney1602
bran1610
formality1610
editiona1627
make1660
cast1673
tour1702
way1702
specie1711
tenor1729
ilk1790
genre1816
stripe1853
persuasion1855
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 177 (MED) Ine kueade uelaȝrede to uolȝy oþer ine oþer þinge þet heþ colour of zenne.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. l. 2394 (MED) Oure dedes ben of o colour And in effect of o decerte.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 6368 (MED) Þe wandis..helde lefe & floure smelland wiþ a squete coloure.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. ii. 95 You haue lost much good sport... Sport: of what colour?
a1616 W. Shakespeare King Lear (1623) ii. ii. 134 This is a Fellow of the selfe same colour [1608 nature], Our Sister speakes of.
1663 J. Spencer Disc. Prodigies (1665) 337 The Reason he gives..is much of color with that of our Adversaries.
1781 J. Moore View Soc. Italy (1790) II. xlvii. 26 [The books] formed a strong contrast with the colour of his mind.
1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis I. xxxviii. 375 Pendennis..took his colour very readily from his neighbour.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. I. xxxiv. 523 Of this great step, modifying profoundly the colour and character of the government, there is no trace in the words of the Constitution.
1900 Polit. Sci. Q. 15 182 Centralization that goes to the length of quasi-monopoly takes a different color.
1972 T. Keneally Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith x. 107 The colour of his opinion, which was generally anti-monarchist and Papist.
1995 Times 18 July 19/8 He sensed a change in the colour of the crowd.
12.
a. Music. The timbre or sound quality of individual voices or instruments, or the distinctive quality of the sound of a group of singers or musicians performing together, esp. as something which can be varied to produce a range of tone or expression; an example or instance of this. Also more generally: the effect produced by any compositional device, esp. the use of chromaticism, that inflects or adds variety to the pervading character of the piece. Cf. tone-colour n. at tone n. Compounds 2.In later use often with the sense that the quality or the features associated with it are vividly expressive, overlapping with sense 17.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > expression > [noun]
colour1597
colouring1771
feeling1771
expression1774
nuance1873
shading1881
expressivity1944
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > thing heard > [noun] > sound > quality of sound
tonea1500
tenor1530
colour1866
clang-tint1867
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > [noun] > timbre or quality
timbre1849
colour1866
clang-tint1867
klangfarbe1867
tone-colour1881
voicing1936
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 166 To admit great absurdities in his musicke, altering both time, tune, cullour, ayre and what soeuer else.
1866 C. Engel Introd. Study National Music v. 179 Almost every instrument has its peculiar colour of sound.
1876 Bernstein's Five Senses 247 Still they give to the fundamental tone a peculiar character: its quality or colour.
1887 Daily Tel. 14 Oct. 3 He has a keen sense of orchestral effect, a capital eye for colour.
1906 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 390 Almost all the great tunes of Beethoven, for example, imply diatonic harmony (sometimes with a single chromatic point of colour).
1944 D. Tovey Chamber Music vi. 94 Our ears and minds were dulled and satiated with the self-evident contrasts and ‘colours’ of a Russian symphony.
1987 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 19 Feb. (Calendar section) 6 The reading had vitality and color, balances that brought the all-important flute part..to the fore.
1992 Windplayer Sept.–Oct. 26/1 He speaks about the sound colors of the trumpet family, demonstrates them on trumpet, cornet and flugel horn and then nails the Hétu concerto.
2004 Opera Now Mar. 73/3 Tate's tempi were among the slowest I have heard, but this revealed every orchestral colour and sinew of the score.
b. Phonetics. The characteristic quality of a vowel sound; = vowel-quality n. at vowel n. Compounds 2.No longer used as a precise technical term by phoneticians.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [noun] > qualities of
colour1841
laxness1909
tenseness1918
vowel colour1948
1841 H. Doherty Introd. Eng. Gram. i. i. 5 The colour or character of a vowel sound depends upon the manner of utterance.
1880 Amer. Jrnl. Philol. 1 305 The group of words whose present is βάλλω started with the same variableness of the initial consonant, according to the color of the root-vowel.
1934 H. C. Wyld Best Eng. 603 It is the pitch which produces the distinguishing quality, character, and colour of a vowel sound in speech.
1977 D. Fry Homo Loquens iii. 33 For certain of the phonemes the sounds involve a noticeable shift of colour within one syllable.
1999 A. W. Coetzee Tiberian Hebrew Phonol. iii. 91 Frequently the vowel is already specified as [+hi] with the effect that the colour of the vowel is not altered.
13. A shade of meaning; an implicit meaning or significance.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > [noun] > shade of
colour1657
1657 O. Cromwell Speech 13 Apr. in Writings & Speeches (1947) (modernized text) 472 (modernized text) That my words have the least colour that way may be because the Parliament seems to give liberty to me to say anything to you as that that is a tender of my humble reasons and judgements and opinions unto you.
1822 ‘B. Cornwall’ Love Cured in Poet. Wks. I. 90 Words of an opposite colour.
1826 S. Smith in Edinb. Rev. Dec. 94 Conversations..to which he could (upon notice) have given another colour and complexion.
1874 S. Baring-Gould Lost & Hostile Gospels ii. ii. 210 This fragment of an ancient lost Gospel in the Clementine Recognitions gives another colour to his words.
1912 W. Ward Life Newman (1921) I. xii. 385 It may be doubted whether the Irish Episcopate in general had any knowledge that such an undertaking had been given. If they had not, a good many events bear a different colour from what they took in Newman's own eyes.
1977 J. Becker et al. tr. J. Brĕzan in H. Witt Thinking it Over 70 Thus these few words take on the darker colour of grief if not accusation.
2006 M. Frayn Human Touch (2008) iv. i. 290 What possible colour or shade of meaning has been lost in the translation?
14. Chiefly British, Australian, and New Zealand. Political allegiance. Cf. senses 1d, 19a.Now chiefly in extended metaphors (e.g. quot. 2010).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > [noun] > attachment to party
partyship1650
party spirit1705
partyism1831
colour1852
1852 Hull Packet & E. Riding Times 9 Apr. 4/5 Mr. Overend is a conservative. The other four candidates..are of the opposite colour.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch III. v. li. 133 If you vote against us, I shall get my groceries elsewhere: when I sugar my liquor I like to feel that I am benefiting the country by maintaining tradesmen of the right colour.
1901 J. G. Grey Australasia Old & New xxx. 337 He is no longer of the right colour and becomes a marked man.
1939 F. Thompson Lark Rise iii. 56 He was a staunch Conservative himself, a true blue, and they knew his colour when they went to vote.
1976 H. Wilson Governance of Brit. viii. 158 Usually not less than eighty per cent of any parliamentary party, of whatever colour.
2010 Chron. (Austral.) (Nexis) 8 June a16 The ability of the Lizardus Politicus to change colour is also well known, although some seem to get stuck half way.
*** Senses relating to vividness of expression.† 16. Scottish. Prosody. Rhythm, metre; a particular form or instance of this. Obsolete.
15. In plural. Rhetorical figures or devices; ornaments or embellishments of style and diction intended to persuade the reader or listener. Frequently in the colours of rhetoric. Now chiefly historical.In later use not discussing Renaissance rhetoric, e.g. quots. 1876 and 1987, increasingly merging into extended metaphors of sense 1a (cf. sense 1c).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > ornateness > [noun] > embellishment > an) ornament(s)
coloursc1405
rhetoricc1425
gaudc1430
flower1508
flourish1603
embellishment1632
flosculation1651
floscule1669
gayness1670
floresa1734
taga1734
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Squire's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 31 It moste been a Rethor excellent That koude his colours longyng for that Art If he sholde hir descryuen euery part.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 15 I lerned neuere Rethorik..Colours ne knowe I none.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 256 Colouris and figuris of spechis.
a1500 tr. La Belle Dame sans Mercy (Cambr.) l. 844 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 111 Full destytute Of eloquence, of metre, and colours.
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. x. sig. Eiiiiv The maister in redynge them, muste well obserue and expresse the partis and colours of rhetorike in them contayned, accordynge to the preceptes of that arte before lerned.
1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie sig. M3, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) A Scheme..for the excellencie thereof is called the ornament, light and colours of Rhetoricall speech.
1655 in J. Mennes & J. Smith Musarum Deliciæ 72 He us'd no colour, nor no Rhetorick.
1684 S. E. Answer Remarks upon Dr. H. More xx. 172 What is here produced is mere Rhetorical colour, no solid or substantial Argument.
1779 S. Johnson Milton in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets II. 162 The colours of the diction seem not sufficiently discriminated.
1827 H. Steuart Planter's Guide (1828) 32 The glowing colours of the historian in describing it.
1876 G. O. Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay I. i. 16 Novelists who have more colours in their vocabulary than Turner had on his palette.
1922 Yale Rev. 11 36 With such postures of the cult of courtliness or religion nothing is possible but eloquence and the colors of rhetoric.
1987 P. Parker Lit. Fat Ladies vii. 139 The evocative ‘colors’ of rhetoric transform words into a picture which powerfully presents a scene to the receiver's gaze or view.
2008 J. Steen Verse & Virtuosity iii. 37 Elsewhere, in a punning reference to the colours of rhetoric, he explicitly characterizes poetic allegory—figura—as that which covers spiritual meaning.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > rhythm > [noun]
cadencec1384
coloura1522
rhythmus1531
running1533
number1553
rhythm1560
cadency1628
chimea1649
run1693
a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) i. Prol. 348 Sum tyme the collour will caus a litill additioun.
1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus iv. f. 64v Haltand vers quhair cullour dois not hald.
1584 King James VI & I Ess. Prentise Poesie sig. L First, ȝe sall keip iust cullouris.
a1649 W. Drummond Wks. (1711) 224 He..said, That Verses stood by Sense, without either Colours or Accent.
17. Features that lend a particularly interesting quality to something; vivid, evocative detail added to a story, description, etc. Cf. local colour n. at local adj. and n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > effect produced on emotions > quality appealing to emotion or imagination > [noun]
romanticness1701
colour1733
romanticalness1770
romanticality1773
romanticity1782
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man ii. 112 Lights and Shades, whose well-accorded Strife Gives all the Strength and Colour of our Life.
1878 J. Morley Carlyle in Crit. Misc. 1st Ser. 189 To take all breadth, and colour..out of our judgments of men.
1885 R. L. Stevenson & F. Stevenson Dynamiter 100 Something taking in the way of colour, a good, savoury choice of words.
1938 E. Waugh Scoop v. 87 We're paid to supply news... Of course there's colour. Colour is just a lot of bull's-eyes about nothing.
1988 New Scientist 29 Oct. 67/2 The sheer fascination of Hazen's story takes you through tedious minutiae and irrelevant ‘colour’ to the final denouement.
2010 Lima (Ohio) News (Nexis) 25 Mar. It certainly adds color to the story and we writer types do love our color.
III. A coloured object, and related senses.
18.
a. A substance used to give something a particular colour, esp. one used by a painter; a coloured paint or dye; a pigment.Frequently with modifying word. body, ground, moist, oil, powder, spirit, water-colour: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colouring > colouring matter > [noun]
dyec1000
colour1335
venomc1374
tincturec1400
colouringa1475
fucus1676
colouring matter1689
colourant1800
colourizer1866
brede1867
1335 in Archaeologia (1789) 9 151 Item, in 3 lib. de gold colour emp. ad idem, 2s. 2d.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 387 (MED) Þey [sc. the Picts] wolde somtyme..peynte hym wiþ ynke oþer wiþ oþir peynture and colour.
a1475 Recipe Painting in Archæol. Jrnl. (1844) 1 155 (MED) For to make fyn azure..wasche the salt clene fro the colour with faire comoun water.
1502 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 251 To David Pret, to by culouris to the Kingis lair in Cambuskynneth.
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 115 They encrease theyr fauours with fayre water, you maintein yours with painters colours.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §298 Painters Colours ground, and Ashes, doe better incorporate with Oyle.
1660 T. Willsford Scales Commerce & Trade ii. iv. 26 Common colours, as red Oaker, Umber, red and white Lead, etc.
1737 S.-Carolina Gaz. 22 Jan. 2/2 Painters oyl and colours, and sundry other Goods usually imported into this Province.
1775 E. Burke Speech Amer. Taxation 5 Why do you venture to repeal the duties upon glass, paper, and painters colours?
a1806 J. Barry in R. N. Wornum Lect. on Painting (1848) 217 Compound, half, or broken colour, which soften and still their difference.
1874 Amer. Cycl. VII. 483/1 Painting designs in colors ground in water and mixed with lime upon the freshly laid plaster..was called by the Italians buon fresco, or the true fresco.
1957 V. Nabokov Pnin iv. 98 Lads..would spend years grinding colors in the workshop of some great Italian skiagrapher.
1972 Country Life 4 May 1127/3 I have now come to..like lip gloss... These shiny lip colours have several good uses.
1999 Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair: 1999 Handbk. 82/4 Careful cleaning..exposed the water-based fresco colours on the relief base.
2008 G. Smith Weekend Artist viii. 98 Gel medium is a thick white substance that you add to acrylic colours to give them transparency and texture.
b. An opaque brown enamel used on stained glass. Also called enamel brown. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colouring > colouring matter > [noun] > colouring for glass
stain1832
mat1881
colour1914
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > enamelling > [noun] > enamel > type of
Venetian enamel1837
colour1914
1914 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts May 568 The composition of the vitreous ‘enamel brown’, or ‘colour’, as it is termed by glass-painters, with which the outlines, tones, and shadows in a glass-painting are produced.
19.
a. In plural. An item or items of a particular colour worn to identify or distinguish an individual or a member of a group; spec. (originally) the cognizance or insignia of a knight; (later) a rosette, ribbon, etc., worn as the badge of a political party; (now chiefly) a jockey's silks; the kit worn by a member of a sports team.In modern sporting use, sometimes merging into sense 1d.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > [noun] > colours
coloursc1400
white1647
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xix. l. 348 (MED) With suche coloures & queyntise cometh pryde y-armed.
c1440 (a1400) Awntyrs Arthure (Thornton) l. 378 That knyghte in his coloures was armede fulle clene.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 5462 All hor colouris to ken were of clene yalow.
1589 ‘Pasquill of England’ Returne of Pasquill sig. Diijv Aduance my collours on the top of the steeple.
1622 F. Markham Five Decades Epist. of Warre ii. ix. 74 His Colors..are euermore contained in the Band-role vpon which his Crest standeth.
1639 O. Sedgwick Mil. Discipl. 78 When a Souldier renounceth his colours, and becomes a transfuge, and runnes to the enemies side.
1685 R. Baxter Paraphr. New Test. Matt. iii. 13–4 (note) Christ as the General, will wear the same Colours with his Soldiers.
1728 S. Kent Banner Display'd II. 764 Crest, on a Torce of his Colours, a maidenhead proper, enclos'd in a Ring of Gold.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. 215 Agitated with hope and fear, for the success of the colours which they espoused.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth viii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 195 The servants..wore the colours of the Prince's household.
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 125 Colour, a handkerchief worn by each of the supporters of a professional athlete on the day of a match.
1881 Rep. Royal Commissioners Corrupt Pract. City of Oxf. 421 I saw these people wearing Liberal colours, and I knew they had voted for me before.
1905 19th Cent. Aug. 321 He doffs his vivid party colours, be they buff or blue, and wears, instead, the white flower of a neutral political life.
1940 ‘H. Green’ Pack my Bag 131 One was lazy and good-looking, different even when he did not wear his cap, his colours as we called it.
1987 Racing Monthly Apr. 12/2 It is a great thrill to see your horse running in your own colours.
1992 B. Kennedy Knighthood in Morte Darthur (ed. 2) iii. 136 King Arthur asks Lancelot to encounter with the knight who wears many colours and is defeating so many of Arthur's knights.
2010 Star (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 16 Aug. 20 Coetzee..hung up her international colours after quitting the national team in her mid-20s.
b. Chiefly in public schools in Britain and the Commonwealth. Cf. blue n. 15.
(a) In plural. An award made to a player or athlete who represents a school, college, etc., in a particular sport with success or distinction. Frequently in to get (also win) one's colours.
ΚΠ
1869 Malburian 29 Oct. 150/2 Copleston got his colours for his play soon after the match.
1896 Westm. Gaz. 11 May 4/1 ‘To get his colours’ is an ambition which every boy should look forward to.
1954 C. R. Attlee As it Happened i. 6 A good field, nothing of a bowler and a most uncertain bat, I hovered on the edge of the team but never got my colours.
1984 R. Dahl Boy 147 A Captain of any game at Repton..was the one who..could award ‘colours’ to others.
2008 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 23 May 16 He became vice-captain of cricket, won colours for football, was awarded a prize for naval proficiency.
(b) A player or athlete who has gained his or her colours.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [noun] > at college or university
Oxford blue1842
Dark Blue1852
Light Blue1852
Cambridge blue1867
blue1870
colour1881
Orangeman1908
JV1922
redshirt1955
1881 Lancing College Mag. Nov. 8/1 It is a very rare thing to meet the old colours anywhere.
1906 Caian Michaelmas 71 All our old colours, with two exceptions, were in their third year.
1955 Times 23 Sept. 3/6 Denstone..will have only two old colours.
1988 Rugby News Nov. 33/4 The main strength of their 1987 XV lay in the pack..and this term started with four old colours and some talented young players contending for places.
20.
a. A flag or ensign flown by a ship or carried by a military regiment.† (b) With singular determiner. Obsolete.
(a) In plural. Usually referring collectively to the particular combination of flags flown by a given ship or carried by a regiment; spec. (with the) the pair of silk flags (the King's colour or Queen's colour and the regimental colour) carried by an infantry regiment of the British Army.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > insignia > [noun] > flag, banner, or standard > colours of regiment
colonel-ensign1577
colour1590
stand1702
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 2 b Their Ensignes they will not call by that name, but by the name of Colours.
1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 ii. ii. 173 Sound trumpets, let our bloudie colours waue.
1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres ii. 20 We English-men do call them [ensigns] of late Colours, by reason of the variety of colours they be made of.
1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 17 A suit of sayles..pendants and colours.
1695 London Gaz. No. 3042/2 To go out with Colours Flying and Drums Beating.
1720 London Gaz. No. 5839/1 She went a cruizing under Spanish Colours.
1799 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) I. 31 In less than 10 minutes..the British colors were planted on the summit of the breach.
1802 J. Home Hist. Rebellion iii. 50 The standard..was about twice the size of an ordinary pair of colours.
1816 A. Suasso Treat. Brit. Drill (ed. 2) iii. 305 The colours' division consists of the two officers carrying the colours, and the five centre Serjeants.
1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy III. iv. 64 The stranger had hoisted the English colours.
1897 F. Cowper Jack-all-Alone vi. ii. 143 There were many yachts flitting about. Several were flying racing colours.
1900 Cornhill Mag. Oct. 534 Lieutenant Monney, of the second regiment, saved the colours by swimming with them across the river.
1945 Times 7 May 2/3 A German armed merchant cruiser flying the colours of Yugoslavia.
1981 M. Moorcock Byzantium Endures iii. 61 Two frigates and a gunboat of the imperial Fleet flew an impressive number of colours.
2010 Express (Nexis) 12 May 9 The Queen was presenting new colours to the regiment's 1st Battalion.
ΚΠ
1608 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 88 Those that are one in speach, Vnder one colours, of one very coat, Combat each other, cut each others throat.
1667 Earl of Orrery Coll. State Lett. (1743) II. 163 It is a grief to me..that a viscount should, only to live, carry a colours.
a1719 J. Addison in Wks. (1888) I. 266 An author compares a ragged coin to a tattered colours.
(c) figurative or in figurative context. Now usually in established phrases (see Phrases 3a(b), Phrases 9, Phrases 12).
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iii. iv. 80 I must aduance the colours of my loue. View more context for this quotation
1696 R. Bentley Of Revel. & Messias 6 They fight under Jewish colours.
1795 Coll. State Papers War against France III. i. 205 You will fight hereafter under the colours of liberty, for your country, for your homes, for your wives, for your children.
1898 Eng. Illustr. Mag. 19 388/1 Little as the retired sea-captain relished flying the colours of an invalid, he was in fact ‘ailing’.
2004 P. Barberis Liberal Lion (2005) iii. 35 In flying the colours of devolution and European integration, Jo was thus in no way giving hostage to his party.
(d) In singular, esp. referring to either of the King's (or Queen's) colour and the regimental colour individually. Cf. Queen's colour n. (b) at queen n. Compounds 3b, regimental colour n. at regimental adj. and n. Compounds, to troop the colour at troop v. 6.
ΚΠ
1786 Gen. Regulations & Orders His Majesty's Forces 15 The two Eldest Ensigns carrying the Colours,..the King's Colour taking the Right of the second Colour.
1832 R. Southey Hist. Peninsular War III. 738 Downie, seizing a colour, and waving it.
1841 H. G. Hart New Army List No. 11. 157 Lieut.-Colonel Macpherson..captured the French colour.
1897 E. Wood Achievem. Cavalry vi. 132 The 2nd battalion stood firm, and in it was saved the Colour of the 1st battalion.
1910 Encycl. Brit. VI. 730/2 Rings of silver on the stave are engraved with, battle honours, the names of those who have fallen in action when carrying the colour.
1994 I. Fletcher Wellington's Foot Guards 48/1 Each regiment of the Foot Guards had three crimson King's Colours: the Colonel's Colour; the Lieutenant-Colonel's Colour; and the Major's Colour.
b. In plural. By metonymy: a regiment; (later also more generally) the armed forces of a country. In later use usually as retained in set expressions, as to desert one's colours, to join the colours, service with the colours, etc., where sense 20a is often understood, without metonymy. Cf. to call (a person) to the colours at Phrases 14, colour service n. at Compounds 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > [noun] > regiment
regiment1569
colours1590
regt1735
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 2/6 Colours..is by them so fondlie & ignorantly given, as if they..should (in stead of Ensignes) be asked how manie Colours of footmen there were in the Armie.
1633 T. Stafford Pacata Hibernia i. xix. 110 Or else to repayre to his Colours.
1633 T. Stafford Pacata Hibernia ii. x. 190 The Enemy..marched with fiue and twentie Colours towards the Towne.
1646 J. Vicars Gods Ark in Jehovah-jireh iii. 46 Being 74 Colours of horse, and 21 Colours of Dragooneers, in all 95 Colours.
1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 148 I..was run from my Colours.
1760 J. Almon New Mil. Dict. at Aghrim His troops are even said to have sworn on the sacrament not to desert their colours.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 297 A soldier..deserting his colours.
1875 Times 1 Sept. 3/1 The Reservists of 1867..are to join the colours in a few days for a month's drill.
1898 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 153/1 We should as a broad principle adopt a ten years' service with the colours, followed by two years' service in the reserve.
1903 M. J. Byrne tr. P. Bear Ireland under Elizabeth iii. v. x. 127 Athlone with 36 colours of infantry, and three of cavalry, reached Boyle.
1969 W. H. Auden City without Walls 76 Unless you flock to join the colours, It can't go on: so, join up then!
2004 B. Pullan & M. Abendstern Hist. Univ. Manch., 1973–90 v. 106 They supported the British Withdrawal from Northern Ireland Campaign by distributing leaflets addressed to troops serving with the colours.
c. In plural. Usually more fully pair of colours. An ensign's commission; the rank or position of an ensign. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer by rank > [noun] > ensign > position of
colours1722
ensignship1745
ensigncy1767
ensignhood1842
1722 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack 133 A Hundred Pound being at that time sufficient to buy a Colours in any New Regiment.
1745 J. Swift Direct. to Servants 60 From wearing a Livery, you may probably soon carry a Pair of Colours.
1747 D. Garrick Miss in her Teens i. 2 Purchas'd me a Pair of Colours at my own Request.
1801 C. Smith Let. 31 July (2003) 375 If..I could obtain a pair of Colours for George, I should not be without hope of getting him on.
1856 J. W. Cole Mem. Brit. Gen. Penins. War I. i. 7 An ensigncy, or, as it is figuratively called, a pair of colours, in the 51st.
1871 ‘Holme Lee’ Miss Barrington I. vi. 84 Wait till this little Jack of yours gets a pair of colours.
1908 A. Griffiths Thrice Captive vi. 50 Let him take his rank in society, buy him a pair of colours.
1990 C. Harrod-Eagles Regency (1995) 217 Maybe your mother would buy me a pair of colours, in the hope that I'd get killed.
d. Chiefly U.S. (originally U.S. Navy). In plural. A national flag, esp. as an object of allegiance.Chiefly in military and naval contexts, often overlapping with sense 20a; cf. to call (a person) to the colours at Phrases 14.
ΚΠ
1865 Regulations for Govt. of Navy of U.S. 16 In such cases, the colors shall be hauled down with those of the foreign ships, or forts, whose national festival is celebrated.
1891 H. Patterson Illustr. Naut. Dict. 352 Colors, the national ensign. In port colors are made at 8 a.m. and hauled down at sunset. When at sea colors are shown upon falling in with another vessel.
1897 Nation (N.Y.) 17 June 446/3 We could not expect to have men ready to volunteer in case of war unless they saluted the colors at frequent intervals while they were boys.
1921 Hispanic Amer. Hist. Rev. 4 706 Every citizen had to declare his allegiance to the colors of Spain or take up arms against them.
1970 Life 11 Sept. 29/2 The flag comes down at sunset outside the Civic Auditorium in Portland as a pair of Chicago Legionnaires salute the colors.
2009 L. Block Aboard Farragut Class Destroyers iii. 49 The man would then face aft, salute the colors and depart the ship.
e. Navy (originally U.S.). In plural. A ceremony at which a flag is saluted as it is raised or lowered.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > administration and ceremonial > [noun] > colours
colour1884
1884 S. B. Luce Text-bk. Seamanship (rev. ed.) xiii. 213 The coxswains of the regular running boats for the day should clean and have them ready for lowering at the proper time, usually at morning colors.
1893 Regulations for Govt. of Navy of U.S. 39 At morning ‘colors’ the music shall give three rolls and three flourishes.
1942 G. Hackforth-Jones One-One-One xv. 130 The duty signalman..bent the White Ensign on to the halliards of the Ensign staff. Then he approached the Sub and reported ‘Five minutes to Colours, Sir.’
1949 U.S. Naval Inst. Proc. Feb. 171 (caption) Morning colors aboard a British battleship.
2007 S. Norval Adamastor Rising xi. 232 After Colours, Admiral Greenblo and Amatola 's Commanding Officer departed to the office of the Angolan Chief of the Navy.
21. In plural. Coloured clothes, as opposed to black. Frequently in the context of death and mourning.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > of specific colour
purpureeOE
blackc1225
greyc1225
white?c1225
greena1250
yellow1368
violet1380
purplec1390
blue1480
colours1641
tawnies1809
butternut1810
subfusc1853
solid1883
Lovat1908
jungle green1946
1641 R. Gentilis tr. C. Garcia Antipathy betweene French & Spaniard ix. sig. G8v In Spaine your civill habit is so much used, and wearing of colors so abhorred [Sp. en España esta tã introducido el vestido prieto y aborrecido el de color], that they force the hangman to weare colours, for a marke of his shame, and infamy.
1665 S. Pepys Diary 11 June (1972) VI. 125 Up, and expected long a new suit; but coming not, dressed myself in my late new black silk camelot suit; and, when fully ready, comes my new one of Colour'd Farrinden, which my wife puts me out of love with; which vexes [me], but I think it is only my not being used to wear Colours.
1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 14 Sept. (1965) I. 267 The..maids of Honnour..she suffers to go in Colours.
1762 London Chron. 20 Feb. 179/3 Several gentlemen have had spirit enough to oppose the torrent, and persist in wearing colours.
1863 M. E. Braddon John Marchmont's Legacy II. x. 229 I seemed to feel as if it was a sin and a disrespectfulness towards her to wear colours.
1896 J. S. Winter Truth-tellers iv. 43 It is a little unusual, so soon after a funeral—so soon after a bereavement—to be wearing colours.
1908 A. Bennett Old Wives' Tale (1911) iv. iii. 539 The tall lady was of a different stamp. Handsome, stately, deliberate, and handsomely dressed in colours.
1933 Los Angeles Times 15 May ii. 6/4 (heading) Spain's ex-Queen resumes colors.
2004 N. G. Tiongson Women of Malolos iv. 230 Mourning in black should last for a whole year... In addition, Alberta advised her children not to wear colors, even after a year had passed.
22. Mining slang. Gold; the presence or appearance of gold. Also as a count noun: a particle of gold.
ΚΠ
1851 L. Clappe Let. 7 Oct. in Pioneer (San Francisco) (1854) Aug. 92 There is a deep pit in front of our cabin, and another at the side of it; though they are not worked, as, when ‘prospected’, they did not ‘yield the color’.
1859 G. A. Jackson Diary 5 Jan. in F. Hall Hist. Colorado (1890) II. App. 520 Panned out two cups, nothing but fine colors.
1867 E. Sauter tr. F. von Hochstetter New Zealand v. 97 Nor was there a single dish full of ‘dirt’ that did not show the ‘colour’.
1909 R. W. Service Ballads of Cheechako 82 They're down-and-outers, and there's scarcely one to-day Can show a dozen colors in his poke.
1997 City Paper (Baltimore) 21 May 14/3 I corresponded with many gold diggers, most of whom advised me..to get on out to California and Alaska, where the real ‘color’ is.
2003 R. Tremain Colour (2004) ii. 180 Every speck of gold that he found on this plot would be his to keep. But where should he peg it? How was he supposed to guess where the colour was lying?
23. Snooker. Any of the six higher-value coloured balls (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black). Contrasted with red n. 12.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > billiards, pool, or snooker > [noun] > ball > ball of specific colour > in snooker
pink1889
yellow1898
colour1928
1928 C. Bergenter Contrib. Study of Conversion of Adjectives into Nouns 135 The reds must be potted before you take the colours.
1954 Billiards & Snooker (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) 26 It is policy to direct the cue-ball to a part of the table remote from the reds, and, if possible, behind a colour (i.e., a snooker).
1995 Snooker Scene May 13/2 Ebdon failed to escape this fortuitous snooker and could not recover after Hendry then potted the last red with a brown to open a 30 point lead with only the colours remaining.
IV. Technical uses.
24. Particle Physics. A quantized property of quarks which differentiates them into three varieties (now called blue, green, and red) and is the source of the strong interaction (see strong adj. 7g). Cf. colour charge n., colour force n. at Compounds 4.The concept of such a quantum property was published by O. W. Greenberg 1964, in Physical Rev. Lett. 13 598, and a suggestion that this property was the source of the force between quarks was published by M.-Y. Han and Y. Nambu 1965, in Physical Rev. B 139 1006; but neither of these papers uses the term colour.The choice of name was guided by the fact that there are three colours in this sense, and three primary colours in the everyday sense. The quantum property has no other connection with colour of the visual kind.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > quark > [noun] > property giving strong interaction
colour1972
1972 M. Gell-Mann in P. Urban Elem. Particle Physics 736 We take three different kinds of quarks, that is nine altogether, and call the new variable distinguishing the sets ‘color’, for example red, white and blue.
1979 Sci. Amer. Aug. 157/1 For interactions of quarks the property analogous to electric charge is called color, and for that reason the theory of quark interactions has been named quantum chromodynamics.
1989 H. Georgi in P. Davies New Physics xv. 429/1 If the colour state is, for example, |red〉 + |blue〉, then a measurement of the quark colour will give red 50% of the time and blue 50% of the time.
2004 A. Watson Quantum Quark iv. 170 A proton..is a quantum mix of colored quarks yielding overall a ‘white’ composite particle that therefore has no overall color.
Phrases
P1. to change colour (also †colours): (of a person) to have one's complexion alter in colour in response to something which has happened, been said, etc.; spec. (a) to turn pale; to have the colour drain from one's cheeks; (b) to turn red; to blush; to become flushed with anger, exertion, etc. [Compare Middle French, French changer couleur (1378), muer couleur (c1373).]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > manifestation of emotion > manifest itself [verb (intransitive)] > change colour
to change (one's) huec1380
to change colour (also colours)a1387
to change countenance (also face)c1425
change1600
the world > life > the body > skin > complexion > [verb (intransitive)] > change colour
to change (one's) huec1380
to change coloura1387
to change countenance (also face)c1425
change1600
to turn (one's) colour1604
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 123 (MED) Þat welle chaunge[þ] hewe and colors[L. colorem mutans] foure siþes a ȝere.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 7308 (MED) Colour he chaungeþ sumdel for drede.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) 550 She changed coloure and blussyd as rudy as a rose.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccccl. 795 The duke a lytell chaunged colour.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 13v The gentlewomen were strooke into such a quandarie with this sodayne chaunge, that they all chaunged coulour.
1616 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Scornful Ladie iv. sig. G4 Step to her sir, see how she changes colour.
a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 5 So apprehensive of the danger, that he changed colours.
a1742 T. Story Jrnl. of Life (1747) 165 She began, in a short Time to change Colours, and that was followed with gentle Tears.
1820 W. Scott Monastery II. vii. 226 The knight changed colour and grinded his teeth with rage.
1831 T. L. Peacock Crotchet Castle xvi. 252 Her eye glanced on something which made her change colour.
1901 R. Kipling Kim xiii. 336 Hurree was no game-shot,—the snick of a trigger made him change colour.
1994 T. C. Boyle Without Hero (1995) 92 He changed color twice—from parchment white to royal pomodoro—with the rush of blood surging through his congested arteries.
P2. † a. †under (a) colour: by a pretext or fiction; under a pretence. Also occasionally upon colour, with colour. Obsolete.† b. by colour of: = under (the) colour of at Phrases 2c. Also occasionally in the colour of, upon the colour of. Obsolete. [Compare Anglo-Norman par colur de (1275 or earlier).]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > [adverb] > under the appearance of
under (the) umber of (or for)1423
by colour ofc1425
under (the) colour ofc1451
under the shadow of1523
with coloura1593
under the umbrage of1674
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 399 Vnder that colour hadde I many a myrthe.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 669 Wndyr colour we mon our ansuer mak, Bot sic a thing I will nocht on me tak.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure ix. i They beleve in no maner of wyse That under a colour a trouth may aryse.
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias 866 The Moores contrarie to his commaundement had bought spices vnder a coulour.
a1593 C. Marlowe Edward II (1594) sig. C3v Then may we with some colour rise in armes.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies vii. xxiv. 568 They went aboord in their canoes, carrying many refreshings of meats and stuffes to make apparrell, vpon colour to sell them.
1611 Bible (King James) Acts xxvii. 30 They had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship. View more context for this quotation
1688 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Persecution Piedmont 46 The Prisoners..represented also that they ought not to be distinguished from the rest, under colour that they were more culpable.
1740 Universal Hist. V. iii. xix. 674 Civicus Cerealis was murdered during his proconsulship of Asia, under colour, that he designed to raise disturbances in the state.
1824 tr. Herodotus Hist. II. vi. cxxxiii. 114 Miltiades..set sail for Paros, under colour that the Parians had sailed in a trireme with the Persians to Marathon.
1882 C. G. Leland Gypsies 247 He was endeavoring to convince me that I ought to give five cents more for it..under color that the leather had a different ground.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > [adverb] > under the appearance of
under (the) umber of (or for)1423
by colour ofc1425
under (the) colour ofc1451
under the shadow of1523
with coloura1593
under the umbrage of1674
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. l. 3553 (MED) I shal..twynne assonder..þe false cheyne Whiche lynked was by colour of wedlok.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccccix. 712 The king..may..assemble great puyssaunce..in the colour of this treatie.
?1536 ( Jack Upland l. 3 in W. W. Skeat Chaucerian & Other Pieces (1897) 191 Antichrist..by colour of holines..deceiven Christes church.
1553 Queen Mary I Let. in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) III. Catal. Let. i. 3 (modernized text) By Colour of the authority of the same King.
1605 Certaine Demandes Propounded Ep. Ded. 7 Those false Prophets, for deceiving of the people, by colour of their garments, should have those garments,..plucked over their eares.
1673 Bp. G. Burnet Vindic. Church & State Scotl. To Rdr. sig. A7 Forcible resistance upon the colour of preserving Religion.
a1718 W. Penn Life in Wks. (1726) I. 27 It is the worst oppression that is done by Colour of justice.
c. under (the) colour of: under pretext or pretence of; under the mask or alleged authority of. Now archaic except as overlapping with sense 7a. [Compare French sous couleur de (1378 in Middle French), also Old Occitan sus color de (1423).]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > [adverb] > under the appearance of
under (the) umber of (or for)1423
by colour ofc1425
under (the) colour ofc1451
under the shadow of1523
with coloura1593
under the umbrage of1674
c1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert (1910) 92 (MED) Feyned folk..used her synne vndyr colour of holynesse.
1461 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 520 Brybours that wold a robbed a ship vndyr colour of my lord of Warwyk.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) cxix. §2. 437 Swikil tunge [L. lingua dolosa]..þat vndire colour of goed counsaile bryngis til syn.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. xlvi. 63 He sent vnto them a prelate vnder the colour of the pope.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iv. ii. 3 Now I must be as vniust to Thurio, Vnder the colour of commending him. View more context for this quotation
1676 W. Sampson Rector's Bk. Clayworth 4 Jan. (1910) 22 Mr. Winteringham Vicar of Retford under colour of my consent & allowance..drawn to woodhouse.
1677 tr. A.-N. Amelot de La Houssaie Hist. Govt. Venice 53 The Senat found some way or other of interposing, under colour of accommodating their Quarrel.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. x. 282 There have been received under the colour of Religion, a world of Fables.
1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. x. 140 This is the oppression and tyrannical partiality of judges, justices, and other magistrates, in the administration and under the colour of their office.
1783 E. Burke Rep. Affairs India in Wks. XI. 278 This receipt of sums of money, under colour of gift, seemed a growing evil.
1833 H. Martineau Manch. Strike (new ed.) ix. 108 A present..given under colour of enabling him to appear more respectably.
1885 Neepawa (Manitoba) Star 21 Aug. 2/1 Nor should those intrusted with the people's money..embezzle..the least portion of that money, under colour of black coal or white coal, ditch contracts, or any other pretext.
1911 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 19 101 Sorel..has broken with the dominating politicians, who, he believes, under color of democratic socialism..aim only to reduce to servitude and to corrupt the working class.
1991 I. Littlewood Lit. Compan. Venice (1995) v. 141 Without giving themselves away, parents could thus go to see their children under colour of religious exercise.
d. without colour: honestly; (originally) without dissembling or disguise; (later) without pretext or bias.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adverb]
utterly?c1225
entirelya1340
faithlyc1350
without (but) feigningc1380
clearly1389
whollyc1390
unfeigninglyc1400
entirec1430
unfeigneda1469
without coloura1513
honestly1526
singly1526
unfeignedly1526
uncolourably1541
bona fide1542
frankly?1553
sincerely1560
squarely1564
uprightly1565
square1577
single-mindedly1579
undissemblinglyc1585
above board1599
fair and square1604
downright1607
downrightly1632
really1641
uncasuistly1649
honest1654
up tro1654
plain-heartedly1675
unaffectedly1677
straightforwardly1839
wholeheartedly1845
unfallaciously1852
up and down1854
single-heartedly1857
unflatteringly1874
uncynically1895
square on1963
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. cxv Without fraude, colour, or disceyte.
1551 T. Cranmer Answer S. Gardiner 16 Answere me directly without colour, whether it be so or not.
1616 T. Gainsford Hist. Trebizond iii. 200 Gestarius..base in very basenesse it selfe allowed each reproch without Coulour or excuse.
1698 J. Collier Short View Immorality Eng. Stage v. 183 Here Profaness is shut out from Defence, and lies open without Colour or Evasion.
1749 R. Hayes Negociator's Mag. (ed. 6) i. 8 The Possessor..can prove that the same Bill, without Colour or Fraud, was delivered to him.
1818 J. Adolphus Polit. State Brit. Empire II. 685 A wager or bet is..a contract entered into without colour or fraud.
1899 N.Y. Suppl. 54 337 Each one told the defendant's officials his story fairly and squarely, and told it without color or suspicious manner.
1921 Railway Maintenance of Way Employes Jrnl. Aug. 8/1 Labor, published by workers for workers, has no interest other than to give weekly a clear statement of facts, without color or bias.
2003 National Business Rev. (N.Z.) (Nexis) 10 Oct. 31 Sky has built up an outstanding group of commentators..Their role is to provide a continuous call of each game without colour or bias.
P3.
a. under false colours (also †colour).
(a) With a deliberately misleading appearance or presentation; in a manner likely or intended to deceive; by false pretences.
ΚΠ
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 4265 (MED) Þe qwilk sal preche undir fals colour And say Cristes lawe es not bot errour.
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes iv. iii. sig. P.vj There nys noo ryght that can com tyme ynoughe for to recompense hym therof by cause it is doon vndre false coulour.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 11496 He set hom a cas, What fortune might falle vndur fals colour.
a1628 F. Greville Treat. Humane Learning xli, in Certaine Wks. (1633) 31 Vnder false colour giuing truth such rates,As Power may rule in chiefe through all Estates.
1715 Let. from Country Whig 62 We have fancied we have seen Trees move, when they have only been Branches in the Hands of those who have under false Colours disturbed the Peace of our Israel.
1798 J. Bayley Forester v. i. 91 You do not live as we do ye white-liver'd dogs! That go about..extorting money Under false colours, unworthy gentlemen at large.
1874 J. Morley On Compromise 134 If men go through society before marriage under false colours.
1958 Listener 5 June 955/3 Rameau's ballet bouffon enters the category under false colours.
1998 V. Lanier Blind Bloodhound Justice (2002) xxv. 237 I'm sorry, but I came to see you under false colours.
(b) to sail (also fight) under false colours: to display colours which mislead other vessels as to identity or allegiance of one's ship; (figurative) to mislead, deceive; cf. to hang out false colours at Phrases 3b.
ΚΠ
1787 G. McCalman Treat. Tea 62 Sailing under false colours, paying no respect to any flag, smuggling, piracy, and every thing that is bad, would be practised in peaceable times.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. at False colours To sail under false colours..is an allowable stratagem of war.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses iii. xvi. [Eumaeus] 582 Sailing under false colours after having boxed the compass on the strict q.t. somewhere.
1973 P. O'Brian H.M.S. Surprise ix. 240 Mr White looked up at the mizen-peak, where a tricolour streamed out bravely. ‘It is the French flag,’ he cried. ‘No. The Dutch. We are sailing under false colours! Can such things be?’
1991 Independent on Sunday 19 May (Review Suppl.) 30/3 But it is sailing under false colours. Nowhere on the outside of the book do the publishers disclose that it is an abridgement.
b. to show (also †hang out) false colours: to make a statement, take a stance, etc., which misleads others as to one's true intentions or beliefs; to deceive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > means of concealment > be or go in disguise [verb (intransitive)]
mask1579
mumchance1606
to show (also hang out) false colours1655
masquerade1677
to parade as1887
1655 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 1st Pt. 98 First, he [sc. Satan] hangs out false colours, and comes up to the Christian in the disguise of a friend.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 52. ⁋3 Our Female Candidate..will no longer hang out false Colours.
1777 J. Wesley Let. 18 Oct. (1931) VI. 284 I hang out no false colours. Scriptural, Christian, &c., are all equivocal words.
1784 F. Burney Diary 30 Dec. (1842) II. 340 A letter..which seems to shew her gay and happy. I hope it shews not false colours.
1829 D. Jerrold Black-ey'd Susan ii. i. 28 There's not an R put to her [sc. a wife's] name?..She's not run—not shewn false colours?
1916 F. L. Coombs U. S. Grant iii. 30 I am not one to show false colors, or the brightest side of the picture, so I will tell you about some of the drawbacks.
2006 J. F. Callo J. P. Jones vi. 89 Showing false colours was a common tactic to cause an enemy to hesitate.
P4. to cast (also put etc.) false (also handsome, etc.) colours upon: to present information or depict people, events, etc., in a particular light or with a particular slant or purpose.
ΚΠ
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xv. sig. Hv He wyll..sette a false colour of lernyng on propre wittes, whiche wyll be wasshed away with one shoure of raine.
1565 T. Stapleton tr. F. Staphylus Apologie f. 35 To set a good coulour vppon this holy protestation they [sc. Lutherans] saye farder..That all bisshops..be all without lerning.
1648 R. Younge Cause & Cure Ignorance xxvii. 65 Prejudice casteth a false colour upon the best actions.
1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 540 He puts a false colour upon one part of his Argument.
1711 W. King et al. Vindic. Sacheverell 21 Charg'd with casting very odious and black Colours upon the Dissenters.
1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Antiq. Jews xvi. vii, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 520 Desirous to put handsome colours on the death of Mariamne.
1808 J. Bowden Apostolic Origin of Episcopacy Asserted II. xiv. 14 There is, Sir, nothing in this world easier, than to misstate facts and superinduce false colours upon truth.
1898 M. E. Bennett Gentle Art of Pleasing v. 101 One by one he sketches them to the life, leaves out no marks the fray of living has left upon them, puts no false colors upon their sins or ignorances.
1994 C. E. V. Nixon & B. S. Rodgers In Praise Later Rom. Emperors 356 Cicero..deplored tarting up one's speeches by, as it were, smearing false colours upon them.
P5.
a. to show one's true colours and variants: to reveal one's real character, allegiance, or intentions, esp. when these are disreputable or dishonourable.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > disclosure or revelation > disclose or make revelations [verb (intransitive)] > reveal one's true character > one's thoughts or feelings
to open one's hearta1250
to break one's mind (heart)a1450
to show one's mind1492
to fish out the bottom of a person's stomach1537
to utter (the bottom of) one's stomach1537
to show one's true colours?1551
to come out1836
to open out1855
to come (out) in (also into) the open1861
disembosom1884
unbutton1956
to go public1957
?1551 T. Becon Fruitful Treat. Fasting Ep. Ded. sig. A.iiiv He [sc. Satan] neuer..so liuely setteth forth him selfe in his true colours, as when ye guids of the Lords flocke be either absent from their shepe, or els are negligent.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. ii. sig. D1v How might we see Falstaffe bestow himself to night in his true colours, and not our selues be seene? View more context for this quotation
1665 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim xxxv. 437 Would you not have us pull off the Mask or wash off the paint, that we may shew things in their proper colours?
1676 A. Fanshaw Mem. (1907) 61 He had formerly made Secretary Windebank appear in his colours.
1688 J. Bunyan Good News for Vilest of Men 99 Feign not..but go in thy colours to Jesus Christ.
1694 C. Cotton tr. L. Pontis Mem. ii. v. 236 Writing in a passion, I inveigh'd bitterly against him [sc. a cardinal], and laid him out in his true colours, mentioning him in scurrilous terms, as Hat, and Redcap, and the like.
1702 Char. Church-man 18 He is for shewing the Low Church Men in their own proper Colours.
1770 D. Garrick Let. 30 Aug. (1963) II. 710 Will she testify ye Truth against his Falsehoods?.. Her testimony may be of Consequence—for we must shew him in his proper Colours if necessary.
1789 E. Sheridan Let. in Betsy Sheridan's Jrnl. (1986) viii. 184 He..is content to appear in his own coulours which are not the brightest hue.
1797 W. Godwin Enquirer i. ii. 8 Exhibit things in their true colours.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. lxv. 166 [He] who didn't venture..to come out in his true colours.
1878 B. Harte Man on Beach 75 At last..the underteachers..revealed themselves in their true colours.
1884 W. E. Gladstone in Standard 29 Feb. 2/7 Opponents who may find some difficulty in showing their colours.
1941 Amer. Observer 15 Dec. 5/4 Not until the summer of 1939 was Abetz exposed in his true colors and expelled from France.
1948 P. Kavanagh Tarry Flynn vii. 151 He felt that he would be able to rehabilitate himself with Mary Reilly if he once got the chance to flower forth in his real colours of genius.
1975 S. Selvon Moses Ascending 146 ‘What about the trafficking of illegal Paki immigrants,’ she say, showing her true colours.
1995 K. Ishiguro Unconsoled xvi. 239 It's just as well she's revealing her true colours before Mr Ryder's parents arrive.
2003 R. Gervais & S. Merchant Office: Scripts 2nd Ser. Episode 2. 81 Brent: I've just had it out with Neil. He showed his true colours, didn't he?
b. to see (a person) in his (her, etc.) true colours and variants: to see (a person) as he or she really is, esp. rather than as he or she typically appears or has previously been accepted or understood to be.
ΚΠ
1612 T. Dekker O per se O sig. M1v First therefore shall you behold the Abram-man in his true colours, his right shape, his owne ragges.
1660 E. Stillingfleet Irenicum ii. v. 201 Which prejudice being the Yellow-jaundise of the soul, leaves such a tincture upon the eyes of the understanding, that till it be cured of that Icterism, it cannot discern things in their proper colours.
1743 Erskine tr. A. F. Prévost d'Exiles Mem. & Adventures Marquis de Bretagne & Duc d'Harcourt II. x. 177 We shall soon see them appearing in their true colours, and acting quite a different part.
1798 European Mag. & London Rev. Nov. 326/2 But he now saw them in their true colours.
1865 F. W. Robinson Mr. Stewart's Intentions I. ii. vii. 210 Mr. Stewart had puzzled me very much, and every opportunity of judging him, and seeing his true colours, I did not like to lose.
1920 ‘K. Mansfield’ Let. 13 Jan. (1993) III. 178 She has become (or I see her now in her true colours) the person who looks after all I cannot attend to.
2005 J. Bailey Tommy Glover's Sketch of Heaven (U.S. ed.) 10 I get to hear the shadiest gossip and to see their true colours.
P6. to give (also lend) colour: (originally) to give a specious appearance of truth to an idea, opinion, etc.; to afford a ground or pretext for an action; (now typically without necessary sense of pretence) to give support or plausibility to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > support or encourage [verb (transitive)] > take someone's side or side with > ostensibly
to give (also lend) colour1582
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > create or maintain appearance [phrase]
to have some show1556
to set a face on (something)1590
to save or keep up appearances1603
to give (also lend) colour1687
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > attest, bear witness [verb (transitive)] > support, corroborate
fasteneOE
i-sothea925
sustainc1325
witness1362
approvec1380
confirmc1384
affirma1393
justifya1393
to bear outa1475
corrobore1485
uphold1485
nourisha1522
underpinc1522
to countenance outa1529
favoura1530
soothe1544
strengthen1548
comfort1593
second1596
accredit1598
evidencea1601
warrantise1600
compact1608
back1612
thickena1616
accreditate1654
shoulder1674
support1691
corroborate1706
carry1835
to give (also lend) colour1921
1582 R. Parsons Def. Censure 13 By excluding councels, fathers, and auncitours of the churche..to reserue vnto them selues libertie, and authoritie to make what meaning of Scripture they please, and thereby to gyue colour to euerye fansie they list to teache.
a1641 J. Webster & T. Heywood Appius & Virginia (1654) iv. 43 Dead? no my Lord, belike they were of counsel with your deceased Lady, and so sham'd twice to give colour to so vile an act.
1687 H. Care Modest Enq. iv. 60 Indirect means to advance and lend Colours to the supporting or spreading the Honour, the Pomp and Empire of the See of Rome.
1771 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) V. 454 St. Paul..gives you no colour for making void the law.
1790 W. Paley Horæ Paulinæ i. 2 In order to give colour and probability to the fraud.
1846 R. C. Trench Christ Desire of All Nations ii. 37 The slightest hint that seems to give a colour to..hope.
1896 H. L. Tangye In New S. Afr. v. 326 This lends some colour to the theory that the inhabitants adapted themselves..to the practice of the country and lived in dagher huts.
1921 E. Sapir Lang. vi. 155 Facts such as these seem to lend color to the suspicion that..we are confronted by something deeper.
1977 P. L. Fermor Time of Gifts (1979) ii. 65 The river..churns perilously enough to give colour to the stories of ships and sailors beckoned to destruction.
1991 Amer. Heritage Nov. 146/3 You may acquire serendipitously a useful anecdote or background information that lends color and authenticity to an account.
P7. † a. to fear no colours: to be afraid or no enemy or opponent; (more generally) to have no fear. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > courage > fearlessness > have no fear [verb]
to fear no colours1592
1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes sig. D4v Helter skelter, feare no colours, course him, trounce him.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) i. v. 9 I can tell thee where yt saying was borne, of I feare no colours..In the warrs.
1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin ii. 175 Come, fear no Colours! The end the Act will hallow!
1737 H. Bracken Farriery Improved xxxvii. 527 The Viper-Catchers have a Way of smearing over their Hands with the Fat of the Viper, and then they fear no Colours.
1809 European Mag. & London Rev. May 372/2 We take it, that the expression ‘under the rose,’ like that which says, ‘He that is hanged need fear no colours’, arose from the wars.
1882 Sunday at Home 618/2 In spite, however, of the opposition truth daily meets with in the world, yet we are told ‘Truth fears no colours’.
b. to stick (also †stand) to one's colours: to maintain one's allegiance to one's party, faction, etc.; cf. to stick to one's guns at gun n. 6c.
ΚΠ
1639 W. Harrison Two Treat. ii. xi. 341 A covetous person will never stand to his colours.
1769 tr. P. de Charlevoix Hist. Paraguay II. xii. 292 He had..men enough to oblige the rebels to return to their duty, had all his men stuck to their colours.
1831 Royal Cornwall Gaz. 16 July [We] call the attention of all those who stick to their colours and their friends, to the excellent speech of Lord Valletort.
1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 5 Nov. 7/1 The obstinacy with which Prince Alexander is sticking to his colours.
1890 A. Conan Doyle Firm of Girdlestone xxxi. 244 Kate stood firmly to her colours.
1922 A. W. Sterling Bk. Englewood xix. 291 Mayor Munroe stuck to his colours and vetoed the resolution, but the council repassed it.
2009 Daily News (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 6 May 8 A supporter is one who sticks to his colours through good times and bad.
P8. a horse of another (also the same, etc.) colour: see horse n. 25a.
P9. with flying colours.
a. Of a regiment of soldiers, a ship, etc.: with the flag, ensign, or standard flying.
ΚΠ
1612 J. Speed Theatre of Empire of Great Brit. ix. xxiv. 855/2 Philips Army with flying colours sent lately into Ireland vpon gift made vnto him by the Pope..bewraied their intents.
1651 J. Lamont Diary (1830) 32 The garesone..to go foorth with flieing coullers.
1701 E. Ward Battel without Bloodshed 12 With fine Flying Colours, and Groaning board Hums,..they march the Town round.
1792 E. Hargrove Anecd. Archery 60 On the 21st of March 1661, four hundred Archers marched, with flying colours to Hyde-Park.
1843 Penny Cycl. XXVI. 383/1 Matteo sent in his place one of his sons, Marco, escorted by a body of troops with flying colours.
1905 G. Peel Friends Eng. vi. 113 They were not so simple as to march with flying colours into the camp of their religious enemies.
b. With visible or undoubted success; with distinction. Frequently in to come off (also through, etc.) with flying colours.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > make a success of [verb (transitive)] > cause (one) to be successful
triumpha1571
to give the bell1600
to come off (also through, etc.) with flying colours1622
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)] > achieve success (of persons) > perform or contest successfully
to come off (also through, etc.) with flying colours1622
to come offa1645
to come on strong1886
1622 W. Ames Reply Dr. Mortons Gen. Def. v. 83 He is as it seemeth, a great adventurer: For hee commeth forth upon this peece of service with flying colours.
1692 J. Locke Toleration iii. viii It may..bring a Man off with flying Colours.
1707 G. Farquhar Beaux Stratagem i. 5 We came off with flying Colours.
1790 J. Wesley Let. 20 Apr. (1931) VIII. 215 John Atlay goes on with flying colours, telling all that will give him the hearing how cruelly he has been used by me.
1887 A. Jessopp Arcady ii. 63 The tenant farmers..do they come out of it with any flying colours?
1966 M. Pei How to learn Langs. 7 He eventually graduated, but not with flying colors.
2004 Nature 5 Feb. 483/3 So far, Einstein's equations pass both tests with flying colours.
P10. to see the colour of someone's money: to receive payment from someone; (also) to receive some proof that someone has enough money to pay for something and that payment is forthcoming. Also to show someone the colour of one's money: to provide such payment or proof.
ΚΠ
1718 T. Gordon in Cordial Low-spirits (1750) 33 I have never seen the colour of Mr. Baskett's money.
1795 H. Cowley Town before You ii. i. 20 Sir, you have been in my lodgings fourteen weeks, and I have never yet seen the colour of your money.
1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy II. iii. 64 Messrs. Gascoigne and Easy paid their bill and rose to depart, but the padrone informed them that he should like to see the colour of their money before they went on board.
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xviii. 173 He had never seen the colour of my money.
1906 Women that pass in Night I. x. 142 The waiter soon saw the colour of my money, to the tune of one hundred and fifty francs.
1960 B. Kops Dream of Peter Mann 53 Going to the first ten lucky punters for a measly nicker—Show us the colour of your money.
1996 F. McGuinness Carthaginians (rev. ed.) v, in Plays: 1 354 Ring-a-ding, dear, ring-a-ding. Show us the colour of your money.
2010 Mirror (Eire ed.) (Nexis) 13 Aug. 28 His divorce attorney has certainly seen the colour of his money over the years.
P11. Originally and chiefly U.S. of colour: designating a person who is not white-skinned, esp. a black person, as man of colour, person of colour, people of colour, woman of colour, etc. [Compare French de couleur (1779 or earlier in gens de couleur people of colour, 1789 or earlier in homme de couleur man of colour; in Old French in general sense ‘having a colour, coloured’ (c1170)) and Spanish de color (1748 in mujer de color woman of colour, in the passage translated in quot. 1758 at coloured adj. 3b, also 1748 in gente de color people of colour; 13th cent. in general sense ‘having a colour, coloured’), both used to designate a person who is not white-skinned. Compare earlier coloured adj. 3b.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > non-white person > [noun]
person of colour1786
buck1800
coloured1832
Indiano1836
nigger1843
skepsel1844
native1846
non-white1864
fuzzy1890
fuzzy-wuzzy1892
monk1903
non-European1906
golliwog1916
wog1921
non-European1925
gook1935
boong1941
jungle bunny1966
Indio1969
1786 M. Smeathman (title) in Mississippi Valley Hist. Rev. (1916) 2 501 Plan for a settlement, to be made near Sierra Leone, and intended more particularly for the service and happy establishment of blacks and people of color.
1788 Mass. Centinel 30 July 155/3 ‘It is a very dark night,’ says Cato, to one of his brethren of colour.
1797 B. Edwards Hist. Surv. St. Domingo i. 1 The inhabitants..were composed of three great classes: 1st, pure whites. 2d, people of colour, and blacks of free condition. 3d, negroes in a state of slavery... The class which, by a strange abuse of language, is called people of colour, originates from an intermixture of the whites and the blacks.
1803 Naval Chron. 9 111 The Bermudian pilots are men of colour.
1825 Gentleman's Mag. 95 i. 6 A free person of colour is now entitled to give evidence against a white, in any Court of Justice, upon producing his privilege papers.
1849 C. Lyell 2nd Visit U.S. II. 11 The..pleasant expression of countenance of a young woman of colour.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island ii. vii. 57 She is a woman of colour.
1907 Nature 17 Jan. 265/2 The crimes of a few negroes exasperate white people so much that they forget the kindly ways of the average man of colour.
1911 C. Hayford Ethiopia Unbound xiii. 154 Though he immensely dislike men of colour, he thought it politic outwardly to be on the best of terms with the leaders of the people.
1985 P. Abrahams View from Coyaba iv. i. 210 You are a man of colour, Dr Brown, you know the state of men of colour in our world and in our time.
2004 M. M. Lewis Scars of Soul ii. x. 186 Over the past thirty years hiphop has invented a new matrix by which people of color..established their own companies, becoming millionaires without conforming to the Wasp style of corporate America.
P12. to nail one's colours to the mast: see nail v. Phrases 1.
P13. to troop the colour: see troop v. 6.
P14. to call (a person) to the colours and variants: to summon (a person) to active military service with a regiment; to call up; to conscript. Cf. sense 20b.
ΚΠ
1823 in Mem. Hist. France during Reign Napoleon: Hist. Misc. II. 270 The number of retired and reduced officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, amounted to upwards of 100,000; 30,000 were fit for service, and were called to their colours.
1872 Col. von Wright & H. M. Hozier tr. Campaign of 1866 in Germany i. 38 Recruits and furlough men called to the colours in consequence of the decree of the Bund of the 14th June.
1883 Colburn's United Service Mag. Nov. 499 To render the Reserve man liable to be called to the colours for any war—not necessarily European.
1916 M. Gyte Diary 19 Oct. (1999) 105 Our Tony's papers came calling him to the colours on Nov. 2nd.
1967 J. Speight Till Death us do Part: Scripts (1973) 56 If we declare war on someone, an' you're called to the colours—I mean, you can't refuse to go out an' fight because it's dangerous, can you?
1978 E. Blishen Sorry, Dad i. iii. 23 He was to go to an annual camp, as a Territorial: instead he was called to the colours.
2001 Daily News (Los Angeles) (Nexis) 27 May (Viewpoint section) 1 When their country called them to the colors, they stepped forward and made the transition from peaceful citizen to warrior soldier.
ΚΠ
1861 H. S. Maine Anc. Law iv. 110 The Imperial superior..was forced to take colour with the church against the reformers.
P16.
constant of colour n. now historical each of a set of three quantities which together uniquely specify a particular colour; usually in plural.As originally proposed the three quantities were purity, luminosity, and tone; they were later given as saturation, lightness, and hue (cf. Munsell n.).
ΚΠ
1876 O. N. Rood in Q. Jrnl. Sci. 6 458 (heading) The constants of colour.
1902 E. N. Vanderpoel Color Probl. (2005) iii. 26 Colors have three principal qualities, called scientifically ‘constants of color’, which should be studied as a preparation for the study of the harmony of colors.
1965 F. Birren Hist. Color in Painting xii. 226/1 Rood undertook discussions of reflected and transmitted light, color dispersion, and the constants of color.
P17. † colour of brightness n. Obsolete a yellowish colour held to be approached by any perceived colour as it is increased in brightness.
ΚΠ
1877 C. S. Peirce in Philos. Mag. 3 543 The result of increasing the brilliancy of any light must be to add to the sensation a variable amount of a constant sensation..; and all very bright light will tend toward the same colour, which may therefore be called the colour of brightness.
1889 Philos. Mag. 27 3 The visual effect is known to vary in a very minute degree with the absolute amount of this energy, at least if we admit the physiological influence of what has been called ‘the colour of brightness’.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
colour brilliance n.
ΚΠ
1862 W. M. Rossetti in Fraser's Mag. July 74 The multiplicity and Colour-brilliance of the Scene.
1904 Outlook 2 July 514/2 Long clear stretches of an ankle-high shrub of vivid emerald, looking in the distance like sloping meadows of a peculiar color-brilliance.
1995 G. C. Blasiola Koi 72/1 Not all koi have the genetic potential to develop maximum color brilliance.
colour combination n.
ΚΠ
1857 A. J. Symington Beautiful in Nature, Art & Life Index 305/2 Tabular form of colour combinations.
1936 Burlington Mag. Feb. 74/2 All these pictures already show many extraordinary qualities in..their colour-combinations.
2001 Hair Now Oct. 50 A truly fantastic colour combination of pale golden blonde and pillar box red make this a real head turner.
colour equation n.
ΚΠ
1855 J. C. Maxwell in G. Wilson Res. Colour-blindness 157 The principal use of the top is to obtain colour-equations. These are got by producing, by two different combinations of colours, the same mixed tint.
1893 Philos. Rev. 2 360 Experimentally, di- and trichromatic color equations must be valid for monochromates.
1985 Times 29 Jan. 9/5 This language is a colour equation measured in lightness/darkness, brightness/dullness and in the shade itself.
colour faculty n.
ΚΠ
1853 J. Ruskin Stones of Venice II. iv. 78 The very first requisite for true judgment of St. Mark's, is the perfection of that colour-faculty which few people ever set themselves seriously to find out whether they possess or not.
1920 H. W. Merton Vocational Counseling & Employee Select. iii. 94 His Color faculty made him ambitious to be a painter.
1998 G. Thomas et al. Making of Inclusive School ii. x. 162 He would have been able to exercise his design and colour faculties to a higher level.
colour note n.
ΚΠ
1861 Ecclesiologist 22 392 Of course, in the choir, at Lichfield, where the internal stonework is not red, some different colour note must be struck, but the nave should form the starting point.
1949 M. Mead Male & Female xiii. 267 The recurrent sentimental colour-note, blue for a boy and pink for a girl, runs through..nursery decoration.
2003 National Art Coll. Fund Rev. 2002 98/3 The composition..includes colour notes and out-of-scale figures, providing a further insight into the artist's working method and vision of landscape.
colour pattern n.
ΚΠ
1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. iv. 116 All arrangements of color, for its own sake, in graceful forms, are barbarous; and that, to paint a color pattern with the lovely lines of a Greek leaf moulding, is an utterly savage procedure.
1937 Discovery Feb. 63/2 Size of wings, colour-patterns.
2001 G. C. McGavin Essent. Entomol. 93 Several tropical species mimic the colour patterns of distasteful beetles, such as lycids and coccinellids.
colour perception n.
ΚΠ
1847 Fine Arts' Jrnl. 9 Jan. 146/3 The ‘rich harmonious glow’ may be satisfactory to the colour perception of many; but the unorthodox desire of the true lover of art is not to have the picture tampered with by quacks.
1907 Smithsonian Inst. Rep. 1907 620 In dichromatic vision color perception is so limited that all of the shades perceived may be made by combining two of the spectral colors.
2008 New Scientist 4 Oct. 33/2 While most of us have three types of colour receptors in our eyes, some people have four. This gives them an extra dimension to their colour perception.
colour relation n.
ΚΠ
1837 Gardener's Mag. 3 367 If we arrange the colour relations in a general table, we have the following results.
1927 R. H. Wilenski Mod. Movement in Art 129 The use of colour-relations..serves only as an agent in the description.
1999 Jrnl. Amer. Instit. Conservation 38 469/1 When the color relations in a faded color photograph are no longer aesthetically appealing, it is likely that other formal values will be significantly compromised.
colour scale n.
ΚΠ
1854 J. Da Costa in G. Busk & T. H. Huxley tr. A. Kölliker Man. Human Microsc. Anat. 704 (note) A measured quantity of blood is diluted with a certain quantity of fluid, the color of the diluted blood is then compared with a color scale determined upon by previous experiment.
2001 Big Issue 20 Aug. 25/1 It's made to look like a vintage technicolor movie—with that stock's hot, iridescent colour-scale and peachy, airbrushed skin-tones.
colour sensation n.
ΚΠ
1855 Edinb. New Philos. Jrnl. 1 359 Testing the accuracy of that theory of the vision of colour, which analyses the colour-sensation into three elements, while it recognises no such triple division in the nature of light, before it reaches the eye.
2001 P. Ball Bright Earth ii. 46 Both the additive mixing of red and green light to yellow, and the vibrancy that red and green pigments acquire side by side, are linked to the way that colour sensation is created in the eye.
colour stimulus n.
ΚΠ
1861 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 4th Ser. 21 221 Colour sensations may be excited in the retina, or brain, altogether independently of any external colour-stimulus.
1917 First Bk. Psychol. (rev. ed.) 305 On the contrary, the color-stimulus which, mixed with red light, produces a colorless-light sensation, is blue-green.
2005 R. G. Kuehni Color (ed. 2) vi. 84 The spectral sensitivity of average human cones makes it possible to place any color stimulus into a three-dimensional space.
b. Designating artwork done or produced in colour.
colour graphics
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > software > [noun] > applications program > graphics > image
colour graphics1951
computer graphic1963
primitive1968
wire-frame1971
1951 Norseman May–June 190 The group's art distribution program is based on colour graphics reproduced through a stone print process.
1975 Papers IEEE Cement Industry Techn. Conf. v. ii. 1 The computer system embodies color graphics and alphanumeric displays.
2001 Contact May 41/1 A modern 56K modem..will connect reliably to the internet at speeds of 44Kbit/s or so, bringing you snazzy web sites adorned with sounds and pretty colour graphics.
colour print n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > [noun] > a print > types of print generally
sporting print1811
colour print1855
autotypy1872
metallograph1890
surimono1899
Medici print1906
restrike1912
cliché-verre1913
pinpricked picture1936
pinprick picture1943
kiss impression1946
original print1961
1855 Times 8 Oct. 9 Dr. Playfair's colour prints of animal and vegetable life.
1884 Photographic News 26 Dec. 818/2 (title) ‘A collection of photographic colour-prints,’ by A. Schild.
1957 E. S. Bomback Photogr. in Colour x. 105 The ideal colour transparency for a colour print is one having a moderate brightness range.
1980 Daily Tel. 24 May 9/3 No one who has spent any time in English country houses can be unaware of English colour-prints.
2002 Outdoor Photographer Dec. 24 You can produce gallery-quality monochrome and color prints with a lightfastness of up to 80 years.
colour reproduction n.
ΚΠ
1870 Athenæum 24 Dec. 839/3 As to the colour-reproduction, we wish pictures were copied as brilliantly as these landscapes are.
1906 Burlington Mag. Oct. 47/1 The Medici prints..will undoubtedly represent a great advance upon anything which has yet been done in colour reproduction.
1935 Burlington Mag. Nov. 233/2 The colour-reproductions..inevitably give but little idea of the texture..of the originals.
1992 Step-by-Step 8 i. 134/1 Conference and workshops will cover the technical aspects of color reproduction, digital color, scanning, proofing, imagesetting and retouching.
c. (In sense 4a.)
colour domination n.
ΚΠ
1889 J. J. Thomas Froudacity 193 Advocacy of colour-domination.
1962 Negro Digest Oct. 86/2 We now await freedom from color domination, freedom from prejudice, freedom from false concepts as they relate to population groups, and the realization of the freedom of which Lincoln was an exponent.
2000 R. Wheeler Complexion of Race iv. 230 Long looks to white women for preserving the future of the colony. He sees them as key to reproducing the relations of color domination.
colour prejudice n. [compare earlier colourphobia n.]
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > racial attitudes > [noun] > racism > fear or prejudice on grounds of colour
negromania1783
negrophobia1819
colourphobia1834
colour prejudice1841
anti-blackness1967
1841 Liberator (Boston) 10 Sept. 1/2 He witheringly exposed the miserableness of the color prejudice, and demanded for the colored man nothing but that equality which was his right.
1868 R. F. Burton Lett. from Paraguay xii. 284 Colour prejudice appears rare.
1905 W. Baucke Where White Man Treads 134 In the case of the Maori, this is deterred by a colour prejudice.
1932 J. R. Ackerley Hindoo Holiday i. 127 Having interpreted perhaps my coldness as colour prejudice or..conscious racial superiority.
2001 E. M. Yamauchi Afr. & Africans in Antiq. 255 Those who have interpreted physiognomonical observations as evidence of color prejudice have overlooked the fact that such beliefs..applied to whites as well as to blacks.
colour problem n.
ΚΠ
1877 Daily Evening Bull. (San Francisco) 8 Mar. (headline) The color problem.
1882 Present Age 18 May 308/2 The color problem is to-day the puzzle of the South.
1908 S. A. Barnett Let. 2 Feb. in H. Barnett Canon S.A.B. (1918) II. 329 The real problem is the colour problem. Have you read Olivier's book on Jamaica?
1958 Times 4 Sept. 11/3 The time has come to admit that there is a colour problem in our midst.
1989 T. Parker Place called Bird xxiii. 286 We don't have no colour problem here because we don't have no coloureds.
d. (In sense 18.)
colour bag n. now rare
ΚΠ
1826 H. H. Wilson tr. Mrichchakati iv. 84 Wealth is her aim; as soon as man is drained Of all his goods, like a squeezed colour bag, She casts him off.
1841 R. W. Emerson Art in Ess. 1st Ser. (London ed.) 369 They..console themselves with colour-bags and blocks of marble.
1910 F. Maire Mod. Painter's Cyclopedia 214 The pricked design is pounced over with this color bag.
colour case n.
ΚΠ
1834 E. Price Norway i. 7 I have been colouring from nature early in the morning, and had left my colour-case on a plot of ground near the house.
1915 Painters Mag. 479/1 W. A. Woodmansee and his side partner D. E. Jones, gave away convenient leather color cases, with compliments of the Eagle White Lead Company.
2001 PR Newswire (Nexis) 3 May Creamy Gel Color Case—This sturdy, easy-to-transport nylon zipper case holds pens and paper for beginning artists and writers on the go.
colour lake n.
ΚΠ
1807 A. Aikin & C. R. Aikin Dict. Chem. & Mineral. II. 48 The solutions of tin form a very fine violet or plumb colour lake with the decoction of logwood.
1889 E. Knecht tr. R. Benedikt Chem. Coal-tar Colours (ed. 2) 26 Generally known as a colour-lake and not as a colouring matter proper.
2000 S. Garfield Mauve 123 In 1863, Hugo Muller at De la Rue expressed an interest in using mauve colour lakes as a replacement for its unreliable cochineal dyes.
colour manufactory n.
ΚΠ
1781 Morning Herald 1 June (advt.) Messrs. Reeves's, at their superfine Colour Manufactory, the sign of the Bluecoat Boy,..near West Smithfield.
1900 Amer. Druggist 36 32/2 (advt.) One of the largest German varnish and color manufactories seeks novelties and new articles of any kind.
2000 R. Chenciner Madder Red x. 161 His first lake-making Colour Manufactory at Conham in east Bristol began production in 1808 and founded his fortune.
colour mill n.
ΚΠ
1709 W. Nicolson Diary 18 Apr. in London Diaries (1985) 499 I had time to call at a Colour-Mill, which grinds (at a time) for the use of the Potters 28 several Sorts of compositions.
1795 M. Concanen & A. Morgan Hist. & Antiq. Parish St. Saviour's, Southwark 234 Near this place is a windmill, built on the remains of an old meeting-house, and now used as a colour mill.
1896 Chem. Trade Jrnl. 18 Jan. 40/2 New types of colour mills, mixers, and sifters, undreamt of in the old days, have been brought out and developed almost to perfection.
1990 M. Reed Landscape of Brit. (1997) iii. viii. 259 Mills for slitting and rolling iron and copper sheets, for lead smelting as well as iron foundries and gypsum, plaster and colour mills.
e. (In sense 3b.)
colour camera n.
ΚΠ
1891 Wilson's Photographic Mag. 17 Oct. 616/1 Color cameras, patents pending.
1938 Pop. Sci. Monthly Nov. 87/1 An ingenious new ‘candid’ color camera enables the amateur photographer to make inexpensive natural-color photographic prints.
1971 D. J. Seal Mazda Bk. Pal Receiver Servicing v. 89 The three gun currents are proportional to the original red, green and blue separation signals from the colour cameras.
2009 Ulster Star (Nexis) 30 July The equipment consists of two small colour cameras..which are worn openly by uniformed officers.
colour negative n.
ΚΠ
1877 Brit. Jrnl. Photogr. 28 Mar. 137/2 Let us..suppose the power of the precipitate upon our colour negative to be divided into degrees, such as those given by Dr. Vogel's photometric scale.
1957 R. W. G. Hunt Reprod. Colour vii. 62 If several colour photographs are wanted of the same scene, it is convenient to make first a colour negative, from which..as many positives as are required can be made.
2009 Hindustan Times (Nexis) 5 June He was scared he would be arrested when they found the thousands of color negatives he had hidden in a leather suitcase.
colour photo n.
ΚΠ
1881 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 18 Feb. 569/3 The colour-photos are more faithful in detail and tone than those coloured by hand in the ordinary manner.
1980 U.S. News & World Rep. (Nexis) 20 Nov. 30 Dramatic color photos of the planet Saturn from the Voyager 1 spacecraft have confounded scientists.
2003 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 7 Apr. c3/1 Smart phones..can..send and receive e-mail, display color photos and video,..and browse the Web.
colour photograph n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > [noun] > colour
heliochrome1853
colour photograph1857
ivory-type1873
heliochromotype1875
photochrome1878
mezzograph1890
sepia print1892
chromogram1893
kromogram1897
autochrome1907
separation1922
colour snap1928
1857 Photogr. Notes 1 Aug. 280/2 A colour-photograph of the nature we have described will manifestly combine in one all the advantages of the well-known chromolithography..with those of the photolithographic..or other process employed in the preparation of the stones or plates.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 56/2 (advt.) A bookful of help for the home decorator, filled with natural color photographs of charming rooms.
2001 Times 28 Aug. 13/3 They must have various forms including a fingerprint card, a green card, and three colour photographs.
colour photographer n.
ΚΠ
1894 Cycl. Rev. Current Hist. (U.S.) 4 p. xvii/1 Lumière, Messrs, color photographers.
1939 W. D. Emanuel & F. L. Dash All-in-one Camera-bk. 118 There is no lack of subjects for the amateur colour photographer.
1993 D. Malin View of Universe ii. 32 Critical colour photographers make an allowance for the ‘colder’ light by using ‘warming’ filters on overcast days.
colour photography n.
ΚΠ
1859 Photogr. Notes 1 Aug. 280/2 In the production of plates for colour-photography of this sort from metal and some other substances..it may be necessary of course to modify our operations to some extent.
1909 G. L. Johnson Photogr. Optics & Colour Photogr. ii. 152 Skyshades are of great value in colour photography..as without some such screen the skies are invariably spoilt through overexposure.
2005 Yoga Apr. 58/2 Each exercise is illustrated with full colour photography.
colour rendering n.
ΚΠ
1890 A. Pringle Pract. Photo-microgr. xvii. 177 Polarising apparatus in connection with photo-micrography is often of great value... The worker in this line must be prepared for considerable difficulties in colour-rendering.
1937 Discovery Nov. 353/1 Fast panchromatic plates are improving colour-rendering.
1993 D. Malin View of Universe vi. 129 The red light of hydrogen appears, so the red predominates and gives an inaccurate colour rendering on conventional colour film.
colour scanner n.
ΚΠ
1951 Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 3 Jan. 6/4 When the drum [scanner] showed up again it had been readapted as a color scanner in a demonstration on December 13, 1945, in the RCA laboratories.
1972 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 1971 335/2 A color scanner is a device which electronically produces color separations from a colored transparency or reflection copy.
2008 Mac Life Aug. 60/1 The DocuPen RC800 is a color scanner that weighs less than 2 ounces.
colour snapshot n.
ΚΠ
1914 in L. Burbank et al. Methods & Discov. I. (front matter) This direct color snapshot of Mr. Burbank was made on his sixty-fourth birthday.
1975 Times 20 Aug. 5/5 The photograph, a small colour snapshot, arrived in the Detroit bureau of UPI.
2010 N. Cross Captured xxxiii. 143 A couple of faded, scallop-edged colour snapshots of a grinning toddler in socks and sandals.
f. Designating material featured in newspapers, magazines, etc., because it is evocative or interesting, rather than because of the seriousness of the content, as colour story, colour stuff, etc.
ΚΠ
1919 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Feb. 27/2 Or, if the news is particularly scarce, you may do a little human interest story..mingled with a bit of color stuff about Paris in January.
1938 E. Waugh Scoop v. 89 They gave Jakes the Nobel Peace Prize for his harrowing descriptions of the carnage—but that was colour stuff.
1968 F. Mullally Munich Involvement iii. 19 Sullivan had completed his colour notes..and had cabled a short teaser story to London for the next day's edition.
1968 Listener 1 Aug. 142/1 We all spent the rest of the day rewriting the sheafs of irrelevant colour stories which we'd all been working on for weeks.
2001 Daily Tel. 11 Jan. i. 20/4 It soon became clear that Channel 4 was reluctant to confront the culpability of the legal or journalistic professions, and instead wanted a ‘colour piece’ on Pell.
C2. Objective.
a. With reference to the production and sale of pigments, dyes, etc. (see sense 18).
colour-grinder n. now chiefly historical
ΚΠ
a1703 R. Hooke Present State Nat. Philos. in Posthumous Wks. (1705) 24 Colour Makers, Colour grinders, Glass-Painters.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 455 His colour-grinder has ground the quantity of colour which used to serve him per day in three hours.
1859 G. A. Sala Twice round Clock 239 The scene-painter..bids his colour-grinder clean his boots.
1956 D. V. Thompson Materials & Techniques Medieval Painting iii. 87 The medieval colour-grinder had an optimum in mind, and that was not always a maximum.
2000 MLN 115 608 The nomenclature of colors, so present at the time in the painters' vocabulary, was borrowed from the dyers, color grinders and chemists.
colour-maker n. now chiefly historical
ΚΠ
1391 in F. Collins Reg. Freemen York (1897) I. 89 (MED) Ric. de Welton, colourmaker.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Coloure maker, colorificus.
1775 tr. Valuable Secrets Arts & Trades 149 This deception is very common among colour-makers, from whom you buy it.
1921 Jrnl. Amer. Ceramic Soc. 4 267 I would recommend that color-makers practice a new species of observation, which would be cultivated by placing colors alongside in pairs.
2002 Brit. Jrnl. Hist. Sci. 35 145 Bachelier had sold the encaustic secret for an important sum to a goldsmith and colour-maker.
colour-making n. now chiefly historical
ΚΠ
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. II. xx. 411 The arts of colour-making and dyeing.
1990 A. Wallert in Z. R. W. M. von Martels Alchemy Revisited xvii. 154 These papyri contain recipes for dyeing, for colour-making, for imitation jewellery and for a number of alloys.
colour seller n. now chiefly historical
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colouring > colouring matter > [noun] > dealer in colours
colourman1663
colour seller1685
society > trade and finance > selling > seller > sellers of specific things > [noun] > sellers of other specific things
soaper?c1225
oilman1275
smear-monger1297
upholder1333
basket-seller?1518
broom-seller?1518
upholster1554
rod-woman1602
starchwoman1604
pin manc1680
colour seller1685
potato-woman1697
printseller1700
rag-seller1700
Greenwich barber1785
sandboy1821
iceman1834
umbrella man1851
fly-boy1861
snuff-boxera1871
pedlar1872
snake-boy1873
bric-a-brac man1876
tinwoman1884
resurrectionist1888
butch1891
paanwallah1955
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > equipment for painting or drawing > [noun] > paints > dealer in colours
colourman1663
colour seller1685
1685 R. Boyle Reconcileableness Spec. Med. to Corpusc. Philos. 161 Since my subject has led me into the shops of Colour-sellers, I will before I leave them, take notice of one Simple that is wont to be found there.
1708 London Gaz. No. 4486/4 Francis Moore..Colour-seller.
1859 All Year Round 10 Sept. 474/2 Why, Mole, do you not go to the colour seller and learn the names of colours?
2000 L. Heron tr. A. Lapierre Artemisia 381 He had handed over one of his letters of credit to the colour seller Antinoro Bertucci to cover his own debts.
colour striker n.
ΚΠ
1889 Cent. Dict. Color-striker, a practical color-maker... [In making chemical colors (chrome-yellow, Prussian blue, chrome-green, etc.). one is said to strike the color when the proper chemical salt is added to another solution to produce the precipitate of color.].
1918 U.S. Senate Documents 5 806 (table) Head grinder; head oil boiler; color striker; varnish maker (runner of varnish or gums).
b. (In sense 20.)
colour-bearer n.
ΚΠ
1677 W. Lloyd Papists no Catholicks 9 The Popes of Rome pretending the common principles of Faith and Manners, and giving themselves out to be colour-bearers to Jesus Christ.
1707 Descr. All Seats Present Wars Europe iv. 190 The Charge was groundless, especially as to the Delivery of the Colours, with which the Colour-bearer run back towards the Village.
1801 Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1800 Chron. 44/1 The garrison..marched down to the number of 2 killedars, 1 sippadar,..2 orderleys, 1 colour bearer [etc.].
1890 D. C. Beard Amer. Boy's Handy Bk. xxvii. 266 Again and again a number of the enemy, among whom was their color-bearer, gained the top of our breastworks.
2006 Jrnl. Mil. Hist. 70 831 The list of Austrian and Piedmontese colors captured by this young cavalryman makes one wonder whether he spent all his time chasing color bearers.
C3. With participles.
a. With the sense ‘with colour, in colour’.
colour-illustrated adj.
ΚΠ
1879 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 31 Oct. Turning in quick succession the leaves of a color-illustrated nursery book.
1921 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 94/1 (advt.) Big color-illustrated catalog shows large variety of styles.
2005 Stamp Mag. Apr. 37/2 In the edition under review this is the 1924–25 Wembleys, lavishly colour-illustrated.
colour-printed adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > manner or style of printing > [adjective] > printed in colours
colour-printed1847
1847 Trans. Soc. Arts 1846–7 223 The colour-printed cover for Siegfried, the Dragon Slayer, is German in its style.
1956 Nature 4 Feb. 217/1 The work involved in republishing colour-printed maps destroyed by enemy action.
1996 Victorian Soc. Ann. 1995 27/1 Producing colour-printed books on Gothic ornament by writers like A W Pugin and Henry Shaw to rival medieval illumination.
b. (Sense 4a.)
colour-prejudiced adj.
ΚΠ
1887 Washington (D.C.) Bee 5 Mar. All honor we say to president Cleveland for his unswerving devotion to principle and his firmness in not yielding to the noisy clamor of a color prejudiced local press.
1958 Church Times 21 Nov. 6/3 The dilemma confronting priests of the greatest goodwill, whose pastoral responsibilities for a white flock in a colour-prejudiced country appear to come into direct conflict with what their conscience..tells them is right.
1975 S. Selvon Moses Ascending 136 ‘Just as I always thought,’ Brenda sniff. ‘She's colour-prejudiced.’
2004 Sentinel (Stoke-on-Trent) 1 Mar. 24 I am not colour prejudiced, but I am open in saying we have got to keep our area a British majority.
C4. † colour-dread n. Obsolete rare fear of people of a different skin colour.† colour-fading adj. Obsolete of a fading colour; pale.
colour analyser n. an instrument for analysing colours; (Photography and Printing) one designed to determine the filters or the values of red, green, and blue required when making a colour print or film.
ΚΠ
1899 Inland Printer Sept. 251/1 Henderson's Color Shade Finder—a chromatic device which shows..the exact amounts used in the composition of any given color... It is a veritable color-analyser, and will no doubt soon find its way into the hands of every lithographer.
1912 Tenth Ann. Rep. Secretary of Commerce & Labor (U.S.) 90 An absolute color analyzer giving color analyses directly in terms of the wave length of the dominant hue and the per cent white impurity.
1934 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 116 197 An extremely simple colour analyser, involving two colour filters and a rectifier type of photo-electric cell.
2002 Sound & Vision May 83/3 Next up will be a tool for measuring and adjusting the TV's color temperature. This can range from an optical comparator..to a tristimulus color analyzer.
colour atlas n. (a) a publication giving examples of a series of shades of a number of colours, to aid identification, selection of matching shades, etc.; cf. colour chart n.; (b) an atlas illustrated in colour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > science of colour > [noun] > shade cards
colour chart1862
colour card1889
shade-card1895
colour atlas1905
colour solid1905
1905 A. H. Munsell Color Notation v. 53 A very elementary sketch of the Color Solid and Color Atlas..is all that can be given in the confines of this small book.
1943 Plant Physiol. 18 720 A very useful color atlas and guide to mineral deficiencies in plants has been published by the University of Bristol.
1956 A. J. Ayer Probl. Knowl. ii. 64 To make sure that I am employing the name of some colour correctly..I consult a colour atlas.
1989 Sci. Amer. July 69/1 The ATS-1000 color atlas consists of 1,000 samples whose hue, intensity and brightness have been measured precisely.
1992 Star Tribune (Minneapolis) 21 Aug. d2/4 There's also a color atlas in the back, plus lists for airport codes of world cities.
colour balance n. the relationship between the amounts or intensities of different colours; spec. the relationship between the intensities of the different colours (typically red, green, and blue) that are combined to form a coloured image.
ΚΠ
1872 Cassell's Techn. Educator I. 395/2 Decorations of a house... The position, use, and material of each coloured object will necessitate a particular preponderance of certain colours, while a perfect colour-balance in each part would constantly lead to a very imperfect one in the whole system or arrangement.
1913 A. H. Munsell Color Notation (ed. 3) Pref. 4 Children's studies..which so discipline their feeling for color balance that they may then be trusted to use even the strongest pigments with discretion.
1987 Camera Weekly 25 July 38/1 Push processing..can also affect colour balance with a pronounced shift towards blue the more stops you try.
2001 Outdoor Photographer Aug. 82/1 (caption) White balance..allows the camera to examine the color of the light and adjust the color balance of the image to make white neutral.
colour book n. a book with illustrations in colour.
ΚΠ
1855 Monthly List New Bks. Dec. 641 Harry's Picture Colour Book. Illustrated with 16 large Coloured Engravings, 16 plain Copies for Colouring, and numerous small Woodcuts.
1876 Publisher's Weekly 16 Sept. 466/1 ‘Jack Horner's Picture-Book’ is one of the Kronheim color books, and very brilliant.
1904 Daily Chron. 20 Apr. 3/5 A colour book, as the term has now become, about the Channel Islands, is appearing.
1995 Denver Post 18 June h7/3 For..its quarterly 32-page colorbook (color ad featuring lots of photos), it orders up to a million names.
colour burst n. a burst of colour; (Television) a signal of short duration transmitted periodically at a precisely defined frequency in order to keep the chrominance signal synchronized.The television signal is transmitted during the period of line-blanking before a new scanning line begins.
ΚΠ
1881 Scribner's Monthly Apr. 819/1 This is the eyed-spot,..shown in its perfection in a feather from the tail of a peacock. It is a sudden color burst on a comparatively plain and often dull ground.
1953 Proc. National Electronics Conf. 1952 8 212 The sync and color burst is generated and added to the output of the two balanced modulators.
1984 Sears, Roebuck Catal. Spring–Summer 148 A colorburst of short sleeve and sleeveless broadcloth shirts.
2001 N.Y. Times 2 Aug. g9/4 (in figure) A reference signal called colorburst is used to manage the color of each line of video.
2008 H. Davidson Frommer's Toronto 2009 x. 255 The arboretum fills with..the exquisite color bursts of rhododendrons and azaleas.
colour cake n. a cake of coloured paint.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > equipment for painting or drawing > [noun] > paints
oil colour1498
oila1536
oil paint1759
cake colour1784
colour cake1794
moist colour1842
powder colour1862
tube-colour1881
tempera1883
powder paint1911
poster colour1925
finger paint1935
poster paint1939
1794 Trans. Soc. Arts 12 Index 394 Colour-cakes, bounty for discovering.
1849 C. Brontë Shirley I. xi. 286 The paints are deleterious..there is white lead..in those colour cakes.
1901 R. Kipling Kim x. 242 His little Survey paint-box of six colour-cakes and three brushes.
1990 Artist's & Illustrator's Mag. May 41/3 It is priced at £13.97, replacement colour cakes are priced at £1.30.
colour card n. a card bearing samples of paint colours.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > science of colour > [noun] > shade cards
colour chart1862
colour card1889
shade-card1895
colour atlas1905
colour solid1905
1889 Yenowine's Sunday News (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 28 Apr. 14/1 Do not commence with the color card—that is, do not select colors simply because of their beauty, or because they are favorites.
1965 ‘M. Neville’ Ladies in Dark viii. 83 I'll order the paint today, before Nicholas gets his nose into the colour card again.
2002 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 11 Apr. d5/1 Selectively dimming individual colors can produce any shade from the Pantone deck of standardized color cards.
colour cell n. Zoology a cell in animal tissue containing colouring matter, a pigment cell; = chromatophore n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > substance > cell > types of cells > [noun] > pigment cells
colour cell1841
chromatophore1864
chromatocyte1888
melanocyte1890
melanoblast1902
1841 Microsc. Jrnl. & Struct. Rec. 26 The regular colour-cells, in the fine hair of Rodents and others, are more analogous to the cells of adipose tissue, and are specifically intended for the secretion and retention of colouring matter.
1981 R. L. Forward Alien in Our Seas in O. Davies Omni Bk. of Paranormal & Mind iv. xvii. 179 The remarkable camouflage of the octopus is largely due to two types of color cells, called chromatophores.
2003 Pract. Fishkeeping Aug. 45/4 The growths may be untreatable colour cell (chromatophore) tumours. Given that the fish seems well, I would tend to leave things be.
colour change n. [compare to change colour (also †colours) at Phrases 1] a change in colour; (Zoology) the alteration in the colour of an animal's coat, skin, plumage, etc., either for camouflage (esp. in response to change in the surroundings) or as a signal to others (e.g. as a warning, a cue for mating, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > markings or colourings > [noun] > cryptic or protective coloration > colour-change
colour change1566
1566 T. Nuce tr. Octavia iv. i. sig. F.iij What meanes your colour chaunge [L. quae..vultus causa mutavit] from red to white?
1856 W. L. Lindsay Histol. Cholera Evacuations 5 These colour-changes are probably to be referred to the action of modified bile or blood.
1873 Lancet 24 May 754/2 The seasonal colour-change in certain species of hare.
1886 Philos. Trans. 1885 (Royal Soc.) 176 654 In its colour-changes with acids it has a very remote resemblance to the purple pentacrinin of Professor Moseley.
1915 A. P. Mathews Physiol. Chem. ix. 370 The color change is due probably to a rearrangement of the molecule to a colored form, probably a quinonoid, when in the salt form.
1936 F. S. Russell & C. M. Yonge Seas (ed. 2) viii. 179 The remarkable property of colour change..is possessed by a far greater number of marine than terrestrial animals.
1991 Canad. House & Home Dec. 82/1 If it is purely for a colour change that you were considering replacing it, please note that it is quite paintable.
2004 Prima Nov. 53 If you're thinking of making a drastic colour change, make a trip to the Cobella salon.., where you can try on wefts of real hair in ninety shades in order to make sure you pick the right one.
colour changing n. the action or an act of changing colour; (Zoology) the ability to change colour; frequently attributive (usually with hyphen).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > markings or colourings > [noun] > cryptic or protective coloration > colour-change > ability to
colour changing1895
1895 R. Holliday & Sons Ltd. against P. Schulze-Berge: Complainant's Rec. (Circuit Court U.S.: Southern District N.Y.: In Equity) Complainants Reply 21 I did say and do say, and any chemist would say, that color-changing tests..are among the most unreliable in chemistry.
1902 J. N. Baskett & R. L. Ditmars Story Amphibians & Reptiles xii. 98 (heading) Color-protection and color-changing in reptiles.
1997 G. S. Helfman et al. Diversity of Fishes xv. 254/2 Suborder Percoidei... Their golden coloration has earned them the Spanish name dorado , and their color-changing habits are legendary.
2006 C. Meldrum Easy Beaded Crochet 98 They are also a good exercise in color changing.
colour-changing adj. that changes in colour.
ΚΠ
a1634 R. Chapman Hallelu-jah (1635) 169 What tortuous Leviathans are they in their amphibolous, amphibious, enigmaticall, ennuciations, and mungerill propositions, like so many Colour-changing Camelions.
a1717 W. Diaper tr. Oppian Halieuticks (1722) ii. 81 With scornful Smile the Lamprey seems to speak, And thus insults the Colour-changing Preke.
?1806 C. Bayley Canada 18 The herds, The color-changing hare—the trembling birds, To covert fly!
1904 Chem. News 23 Sept. 157/2 A colour-changing substance, whilst passing from normal temperature towards the region of absolute zero, becomes white.
2005 Asian Women Feb.–Mar. 239/3 Soften the mood and heighten the ‘chill out’ appeal of any room with this cute colour-changing cube.
colour charge n. (a) a charge (in various senses of the noun) associated with colour or the production of colour; (b) Particle Physics the property of colour (sense 24) regarded as a charge analogous to electric charge.
ΚΠ
1911 Everybody's Mag. July 10/2 When the rocket reaches its maximum height, provision must be made to drive forth the color charge.
1948 C. L. Robinson & A. L. Robinson Intelligible Heraldry 27 The French heralds decided that a colour charge on sinople was good blazon.
1950 L. W. McClure Newspaper Advertising & Promotion vii. 124 Rates for color vary considerably, as do the methods of charging among different newspapers... Lou Young..made a recent compilation of color charges of 398 newspapers.
1977 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 355 518 The charge operator is the sum of flavour charges + colour charges.
2002 F. Close et al. Particle Odyssey ix. 170 Mesons..consist of a quark bound with an antiquark, where the antiquark has a negative version of the quark's colour charge.
colour-charged adj. (a) charged with colour, full of colour; also figurative. (b) (Particle Physics) susceptible to or possessing the property of colour (sense 24).
ΚΠ
1890 G. M. Fenn Eli's Children xxxi. 236 The colour-charged brush in his thin white fingers had sunk upon the white sheet.
1896 E. D. Babbitt Princ. Light & Color (ed. 2) vi. 324 Another very important application of this system of refined therapeutics, is the inhalation of color-charged air.
1949 A. Kargere Color & Personality i. x. 62 There was a sanitarium in Europe where they treated their patients only through color; they used color charged water and lamps.
1979 S. L. Robe Azuela & Mexican Underdogs ii. 107/1 His ardent spirit burst into flame and the bright sparkle and color-charged talk provided the dominant note.
1982 Science 17 Sept. 1127/2 The particles feeling the strong nuclear force must be color charged.
2002 F. Close et al. Particle Odyssey ix. 171 Gluons..are colour charged, and they therefore interact strongly with each other as well as with the quarks.
colour chart n. a chart giving examples of a series of shades of a number of colours, to aid identification, selection of matching shades, etc.; cf. colour atlas n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > science of colour > [noun] > shade cards
colour chart1862
colour card1889
shade-card1895
colour atlas1905
colour solid1905
1862 N.Y. East Ann. Conf. Methodist Episcopal Church Apr. (advt.) Color Charts. No. 11 is a Chart of thirty-five familiar colors; No. 12, a Chromatic Scale of Colors.
1876Color-chart [see colour triangle n.]. 1954 A. G. L. Hellyer Encycl. Garden Work 8/1 Reagents for the barium sulphate colour test, with a suitable colour-chart, can be purchased from chemists who specialize in horticultural sundries.
1997 L. Ferrari EastEnders (BBC TV script) (O.E.D. Archive) Episode 552. 1 (Michael is chatting to Gita, looking at paint colour charts .) Michael. You're right. Maybe the peach. Sanjay. (Disgusted ) Peach..? Michael. Don't you start!
colour chest n. Navy (now historical) a locker in which a ship's colours are stored when not in use.
ΚΠ
1795 M. Greetham Minutes Court Martial A. J. P. Molloy 174 As you had an Opportunity from your Situation standing on the Colour Chest, of seeing me, from the beginning of the Action to the end of it, did it appear to you that I was doing my Duty as an Officer and a Man?
1838 J. Barrow Life Richard Earl Howe viii. 273 I ordered the wreck to be cleared away from the colour chest, and spread a Union Jack at the spritsail-yard and a St. George's ensign at the stump of the foremast.
1977 P. O'Brian Mauritius Command iii. 71 Mr Fellowes, I did not suppose we have a broad pendant in the colour-chest?
colour chord n. a harmonious combination of colours, creating a visual effect reminiscent of that created in sound by a musical chord; cf. colour harmony n.
ΚΠ
1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. ix. 322 The peculiar innovation of Turner was the perfection of the colour chord by means of scarlet.
1884 St. James's Gaz. 10 May 6/2 A warm green, which, with the red gold of her hair, makes up a colour-chord as simple as it is effective.
1951 K. Rexroth in New Direct. Prose & Poetry 13 431 Dürer Painted his watercolors here, And here Tiepolo found those Terribly civilized color chords.
2009 Times (Nexis) 23 Dec. 55 His art won a devoted and affectionate following far beyond his many friends from all walks of life; its colour chords became ever more singing, its compositions ever more subtly solid.
colour circle n. a disc that has segments of different colours arranged around the circumference, used in art, interior design, etc.; = colour wheel n. (c); cf. colour disc n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > science of colour > [noun] > instruments combining colours
colour circle1854
colour top1855
chromatrope1860
colour box1870
wheel of colour1877
colour organ1881
colour wheel1909
1840 C. L. Eastlake tr. J. W. von Goethe Theory of Colours (ed. 2) i. v. 21 In order at once to see what colour will be evoked by this contrast, the chromatic circle [Ger. Farbenkreis] may be referred to.
1840 C. L. Eastlake tr. J. W. von Goethe Theory of Colours (ed. 2) i. v. 28 The eye especially demands completeness, and seeks to eke out the colorific circle [Ger. Farbenkreis] in itself.]
1854 ‘C. Martel’ tr. M. E. Chevreul Princ. Harmony & Contrast Colours ii. 58 Several graphic constructions have been proposed, under the denomination of Tables, Scales, Colour-circles [Fr. cercles des couleurs], Chromatometers, &c., for the purpose of representing..colours and their various modifications.
1955 Househ. Guide & Almanac (News of World) 96/1 Consult the Colour Circle and you will see that lemon yellow and grass green are neighbouring colours and will therefore harmonise.
2008 G. Green Artist's Essent. Guide to Watercolour v. 56 (caption) This colour circle shows some general mixing possibilities.
colour-coated adj. coated in a layer of colour; (Archaeology) designating fine Roman tableware coated with a shiny, coloured slip.
ΚΠ
1867 Ladies' Cabinet 31 124/2 A colour-coated Sweet honey pool.
1918 Jrnl. Rom. Stud. 8 199 Vessels glazed and colour-coated.
1959 Records of Bucks. XVI. 248 Local types of colour-coated ware.
2009 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 9 July 32 The business produces colour-coated steel for the construction and general engineering industries.
colour commentary n. Broadcasting (chiefly North American) analysis, background information, etc., provided by a co-commentator to supplement the main description of an event, esp. a sporting event.
ΚΠ
1943 Long Beach (Calif.) Independent 1 Jan. 22/1 Assisted by Earl Harper who will handle the color commentary, Don Dunphy will present a play-by-play description of the clash between Georgia Tech and the University of Texas.
1986 Toronto Star (Nexis) 17 Nov. b2 The Toronto welterweight has been doing color commentaries for The Sports Network, the pay TV sports channel.
2007 G. Tombs Robber Baron xi. 400 [He] provided the colour commentary, the insider view of what had happened.
colour commentator n. Broadcasting (chiefly North American) a person giving a colour commentary; cf. colourman n. 4.
ΚΠ
1939 Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) 3 Oct. 7/3 All play-by-play broadcasts will be given by Bob Elson and Red Barber. Edwin C. Hill, Lowell Thomas, Stan Lomax, Grantland Rice and Gabriel Heatter will alternate as color commentators.
2001 B. Weeks Curling for Dummies xxi. 313 Duguid retired after winning his third Championship and became the colour commentator on curling for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a job he held for 29 years.
colour-conscious adj. aware of, or attaching importance to, differences in skin colour, or the colour of one's own skin.
ΚΠ
1919 Encycl. Americana XV. 648/2 To keep on good terms with nations that are color-conscious and want no immigration of Asiatics.
1952 P. H. Abrahams Path of Thunder iii. i. 213 And she's not colour-conscious, Celia realized with dismay.
1992 Ebony Mar. 120/2 ‘I never thought of myself as being really color-conscious’, says the 30-year-old mid-brown-complexioned mother of two, who asked that her name not be disclosed.
colour consciousness n. awareness of colour; esp. the feeling that differences in skin colour, or the colour of one's own skin, have a special importance or meaning.
ΚΠ
1888 Wade's Fibre & Fabric 13 Oct. 258/1 We must sense and analyze the very essences that permeate a vast universe of matter, causing each atom to absorb and radiate the elements that react on color consciousness.
1913 London Q. Rev. July 43 The title of the Japanese to treatment at least equal to that accorded to the less-developed peoples of modern Europe can be denied only because of race prejudice and colour consciousness.
1953 P. H. Abrahams Return to Goli vi. 205 Kenyatta was delicately sensitive to the slightest hint of colour consciousness.
1957 E. S. Bomback Photogr. in Colour i. 9 We live in an age of colour-consciousness. This applies not only to clothes..it applies to the home in the form of gaily coloured plastics.
1995 New Yorker 19 June 41/1 The rap scene can sound pretty benighted, in the sense that there's a lot of damaging color-consciousness.
colour constancy n. the phenomenon whereby the perceived colour of a surface tends to remain constant despite changes in the colour of the illumination.
ΚΠ
1914 Psychol. Bull. 11 83 The paper contains interesting collateral discussions, especially in regard to Hering's ‘color constancy of visual objects’.
1961 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 13 May 1376/2 The phenomenon of colour constancy, in which coloured objects will often retain their natural colour in spite of wide changes in the colour quality of the illumination.
2005 Times Higher Educ. Suppl. (Nexis) 25 Mar. 28 The mechanisms of colour constancy in our visual systems.
colour contrast n. the juxtaposition of different colours, contributing to the overall visual effect of an image, item, etc.; an instance of this; cf. contrast n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > the arts in general > [noun] > work of art > qualities generally
decoruma1568
humoura1568
variety1597
strength1608
uniformity1625
barbarity1644
freedom1645
boldness1677
correctness1684
clinquant1711
unity1712
contrast1713
meretriciousness1727
airiness1734
pathos1739
chastity1760
vigour1774
prettyism1789
mannerism1803
serio-comic1805
actuality1812
largeness1824
local colour1829
subjectivitya1834
idealism1841
pastoralism1842
inartisticalitya1849
academicism1852
realism1856
colour contrast1858
crampedness1858
niggling1858
audacity1859
superreality1859
literalism1860
pseudo-classicism1861
sensationalism1862
sensationism1862
chocolate box1865
pseudo-classicality1867
academism1871
actualism1872
academicalism1874
ethos1875
terribilità1877
local colouring1881
neoclassicism1893
mass effect1902
attack1905
verismo1908
kitsch1921
abstraction1923
self-consciousness1932
surreality1936
tension1941
build-up1942
sprezzatura1957
1858 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 4th Ser. 16 159 The probability of the observation of a yellow fluorescence of a solution of fraxine, in a test-tube placed in a case of blue cobalt glass....being due to an optical illusion caused by the colour contrast.
1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. II. xx. 244 The so-called simultaneous color-contrast, by which one color modifies another alongside.
1921 Amer. Woman Jan. 9/1 A clever hostess will take pains to devise new shapes, effective color contrasts, and unusual fillings.
1938 R. S. Woodworth Exper. Psychol. xxii. 567 Much more striking is the interaction known as contrast, including brightness contrast and color contrast.
2001 Wire June 18/3 His own invention which exploits colour contrasts and the effects of retinal afterimage.
colour-correct adj. Photography representing colours in their correct relation to each other (i.e. with no colour cast); = orthochromatic adj. 1.
ΚΠ
1886 Anthony's Photogr. Bull. 25 Dec. 754 It has also been asserted that eosine offers the same advantages as cyanin for color-correct views.
1946 Pop. Sci. Monthly Apr. 248/1 (advt.) Every lens is individually adjusted and tested in an enlarger to provide extra assurance that enlargements will be sharp, sparkling, color-correct.
2002 Outdoor Photographer Oct. 91/2 (advt.) Interference Mirrors on their Roof Prism systems..deliver the largest amount of ‘color correct’ light when compared to all other binoculars.
colour-corrected adj. (a) (esp. of photographic emulsion or a device) adjusted to display or detect colour correctly; (of an image) having undergone colour correction; (b) Optics (of a lens) having little or no chromatic aberration.
ΚΠ
1890 Photogr. Times 8 Aug. 391/2 With a color-corrected plate the organisms stand out clear and unmistakable.
1906 Amer. Amateur Photographer July 308/2 A much simpler lens, for instance a simple color-corrected combination of longfocus, will be fully as satisfactory.
1986 ARTnews Sept. 155/3 It has an ANSI Standard 500K color-corrected fluorescent lamp.
2001 R. W. Cahn Coming of Materials Sci. vii. 291 Some glasses have anomalous dispersion, and these are useful for the design of highly colour-corrected lens sets.
2008 C. Cuttle Lighting by Design (ed. 2) iii. 129 The detector of a luminance meter is a colour-corrected photocell.
colour correction n. (a) Optics correction of chromatic aberration in a lens; cf. correction n. 7b; (b) Film, Photography, and Television alteration or adjustment of an image during processing or of the lighting of a scene during filming, so that colours are displayed as desired.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > lens > specific quality
colour correction1860
1860 Photogr. Notes 15 May 136/1 The color correction may not be quite so good..but to have done this would have been to convert it at once into the Petzval style of lens.
1909 Photo-era Mag. July 10 Full color-correction is hardly ever necessary in landscape work.
1911 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 511/2 The colour correction is so perfect that the different coloured images are identical in size and position, thus rendering it specially suitable for three-colour and process work.
1989 Lighting Design Nov.–Dec. 11/3 One method..included putting colour correction gel on lamps to produce a white, crisp rendition to bring out the pink hue of the model.
1995 Sky & Telescope May 35 (advt.) The superb color correction..allows the construction of a relatively short focus objective that is superior to long focus achromats.
2002 Digit Oct. 12/1 You can preview a title, apply a dissolve, perform color correction, and animate a picture-in-picture effect simultaneously.
colour cup n. a container or receptacle holding paint, ink, etc., for use in painting or photography, spec. one attached to a spray gun.
ΚΠ
1821 G. Soane tr. F. H. K. de La Motte Fouqué Minstrel-love II. ii. 11 The artist..diligently painted images upon the clear leaves of a vellum volume, alternately dipping into the colour cups to the right and left of him.
1914 Manch. Guardian 9 Apr. 10/4 A small pistol pattern spray, which is self-contained. It carries a colour cup of sufficient capacity to hold a considerable quantity of dye liquor.
1993 Artist's & Illustrator's Mag. Dec. 40/4 Gravity-feed draws from a slit reservoir or colour cup in front of the trigger, or from a side-mounted cup.
colour-defective adj. and n. (a) adj. (of a person) having defective colour vision; colour-blind; (b) n. a person with defective colour vision. [In quot. 1878 after Swedish färgblind, lit. ‘colour-blind’ (A. F. Holmgren 1874). Compare the German parallel cited at colour-weak adj. Compare earlier colour-blind adj. and also quot. 1853 for colour vision n.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [noun] > colour blindness > person
idiopt1833
Daltonian1841
dichromatic1842
colour-blind1855
colour-defective1878
Daltonist1879
dichromat1893
monochromat1893
deuteranope1902
protanope1908
deuteranomal1915
protanomal1915
tritanope1915
protan1944
deutan1948
achromatopsic1986
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [adjective] > colour blind
dichromic1836
dichromatic1842
colour-blind1847
green-blind1868
red-blind1873
blue-blind1877
red–green1878
achromatopsic1883
dyschromatoptic1886
colour-weak1893
violet-blind1894
monochromatic1897
protanopic1898
protanomalous1911
tritanopic1915
deuteranomalous1932
tritanomalous1943
colour-defective1958
protan1961
1878 B. J. Jeffries tr. A. F. Holmgren in Ninth Ann. Rep. State Board Health Mass. 113 During the Congress I had time to show the physicians the practical application of the method, by examining in their presence..100 men of the artillery-regiment in Gotha, amongst whom we found 4 color-defective [Sw. färgblinda], 1 for red, 1 for green, and 2 incompletely blind to color [Sw. 1 rödblind, 1 grönblind och 2 ofullständigt färgblinda].
1900 Stud. Yale Psychol. Lab. 8 17 All persons belonging to abnormal types might be called ‘color defectives’.
1958 Listener 6 Nov. 730/1 The paintings of three such colour defective artists.
2003 D. B. Elliott Clin. Procedures Primary Eye Care (ed. 2) ii. 41 All hereditary colour defectives should be reassured about their condition.
colour diagram n. a diagram showing the relationship between a number of colours in a particular context.
ΚΠ
1845 C. Hayter Introd. Perspective, Drawing, & Painting (ed. 6) p. xiv Colour diagram, descriptive of the curious effect of combining the three primitive colours.
1922 Science 26 May 557/2 Color diagrams are immensely more illuminating if they are done up in color.
2007 J. C. Russ Image Processing Handbk. (ed. 5) iii. 146 Figure 3.11 shows the CIE (Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage) color diagram.
colour difference n. a difference in colour; a difference between colours.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colour relationships > [noun] > discordancy of or difference between colours
colour difference1863
clash1935
1863 Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinb. 7 548 These two species, which have imperfectly fertilised each other, present colour differences, as well as great structural differences.
1948 W. W. Pigman Chem. Carbohydrates xi. 470 The well-known color difference between the natural and the synthetic alizarin.
1955 G. G. Gouriet Introd. Colour Television 45 The particular method of duplex modulation used to combine both colour-difference signals on to the one sub-carrier.
2002 Church Times 13 Dec. 18/1 The focus is on ethnic groups and colour differences.
colour disc n. a disc with a number of different colours arranged in sectors; (also) each of a set of discs of different colours; cf. colour wheel n. (c).
ΚΠ
1859 Q. Jrnl. Microsc. Sci. 7 77 Five groups of all the colours distributed on the colour-disc are seen occurring in the order of their arrangement on the disc.
1895 W. de W. Abney Colour Vision vi. 74 Another mode of exhibiting colour blindness..is by making mixtures of colours with rapidly rotating colour discs.
1920 R. Gregory & A. T. Simmons Exper. Sci. xvi. 248 The blurred total of all these rapidly recurring impressions is the greyish white result of whirling the colour disc.
2008 T. Davie Fundament. Hydrol. (ed. 2) vii. 140/1 The strength of colour can then be assessed using one of four techniques: comparison tubes, colour discs, colorimeter or spectrophotometer.
colour discrimination n. (a) unjust or prejudicial treatment of a person on grounds of skin colour; (b) the ability to discriminate between various colours.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social attitudes > racial attitudes > [noun] > racism > segregation or discrimination
discrimination1819
colour discrimination1868
colour bar1869
segregation1903
plural democracy1939
apartheid1947
parallel development1950
separate development1955
petty apartheid1964
1868 Nation 13 Aug. 126/2 The senator..recently delivered a speech against color discrimination in the distribution of the franchise.
1874 Amer. Jrnl. Med. Sci. 68 202 The resumé here given of our knowledge upon the general subject of colour discrimination.
1931 R. Graves Poems 1926–30 10 It [sc. philately] strengthened the nation In the arts of mensuration And colour-discrimination.
1957 P. Worsley Trumpet shall Sound vii. 126 These ‘Australians’ were remarkable for their friendly..attitudes to the natives, the ‘English’ for their maintenance of colour-discrimination.
1992 RS Components: Electronic & Electr. Products July–Oct. 546/3 SOX lamps emit a characteristic yellow-orange light and are therefore unsuitable for applications where colour discrimination is required.
2000 B. Carter Realism & Racism viii. 155 The prevalence of race ideas as common sense may encourage colour discrimination.
colour doctor n. Manufacturing Technology a doctor blade in a printing machine for removing surplus colour or ink; cf. doctor n. 11.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > treating or processing textile fabric > [noun] > printing > calico printing > other equipment
colour doctor1839
mill1839
sieve1839
colour roller1890
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 217 A sharp-edged ruler of gun-metal or steel, called the colour doctor.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 685/1 The colour doctor..fits closely to the surface of the roller, and removes all colour except that which fills the engraved portions.
1994 Technol. & Culture 35 78 A steel or composition doctor blade (color doctor) removed excess color from the engraved roller.
ΚΠ
1889 J. J. Thomas Froudacity 199 To reinfuse the ancient colour-dread into minds which had formerly been forced to entertain it.
colour duster n. now rare a person whose job is to carry out colour dusting; also called ground layer.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > decoration of china > [noun] > painting > colour dusting > artist
colour duster1898
1898 R. Nash Life & Death in Potteries (Women's Co-operative Guild) 6 There are the colour-dusters, who sit with a little heap of brilliant colour dust beside them, dusting it on to an oiled surface of ware.
1900 Daily News 22 Feb. 7/4 [A] colour duster.
1922 A. M. Anderson Women in Factory iv. 116 The latter visited practically all women reported for lead poisoning, and a striking example was the case of Mrs. B., colour duster and paintress, aged thirty-eight, married fifteen years, who had nine miscarriages and one living child, ill all the three years of its life.
1972 Classif. of Occupations (Dept. Employment) III. 386/1 Groundlayer,..Colour duster, Duster, Oil and dust bander.
colour dusting n. Ceramics (now chiefly historical) a method of laying a coloured ground by applying a finely colouring medium to the oiled surface of the pot with a pad of cotton wool or a similar material; also called ground laying.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > decoration of china > [noun] > painting > colour dusting
colour dusting1898
1898 Times 18 Oct. 7/3 Some of the factories employ only one woman intermittently at colour dusting.
1900 Daily News 22 Feb. 7/4 The magistrate remarked on the undesirability of permitting colour dusting to be carried on in the printing shop.
1937 L. Maddock & G. Bellhouse Factories Act 1937 428 All pieces of cotton-wool or similar materials which have been used in the process of ground laying, or colour dusting, or lithographic transfer making, shall be kept in a proper receptacle.
1981 D. Sekers Potteries (2000) 29/1 Ground laying or colour dusting was a continental method of applying a richly coloured ground to glost tableware, kept in production by the better factories until the 1960s.
colour emphasis n. the emphasizing of one colour or of the colours of one part of the spectrum in a painting, photograph, or other image or artefact.
ΚΠ
1879 O. N. Rood Mod. Chromatics xvii. 298 A delicate colour-emphasis is by no means easy of attainment.
2010 Western Mail (Cardiff) (Nexis) 1 Jan. 10 Her lithograph inverts the image and changes the colour emphasis to blue.
colour expanse n. Philosophy and Psychology an area of a particular colour, as perceived by an observer.
ΚΠ
1893 E. D. Fawcett Riddle of Universe xii. 184 Such is the rush that the latter, though originally received in succession, merge into an apparent simultaneity in thought, and so yield a colour-expanse made of coexisting points.
1932 H. H. Price Perception vi. 143 ‘We straight off mistake a colour for a body’ (where ‘colour’ means ‘colour-expanse’).
1951 Mind 60 111 He means by ‘colours’ not just qualities—red, blue, green—but what other people have called colour-expanses.
2006 A. Gupta Empiricism & Experience v. 149 I have a direct awareness of color expanses and their shapes but not of their positions.
ΚΠ
1600 Wisdome Doctor Dodypoll i. sig. B1 Women with their coullour fading cheekes.
colour filter n. a filter that removes certain wavelengths or colours of the light passing through it.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > lens > filters
filter1874
light filter1874
colour screen1884
colour filter1891
mosaic screen1908
mosaic1911
sky filter1915
polarizer1935
polarizing filter1939
skylight filter1950
1891 Anthony's Photogr. Bull. 22 339 Yellow colored glass coated with yellow colored collodion or yellow colored gelatine, is used as a color filter.
1966 R. Webster Pract. Gemmol. (ed. 4) viii. 88 When an emerald is viewed through certain colour filters which transmit a band of red and a band of green light the stone appears red.
2008 Sunday Times (Nexis) 2 Nov. 6 I was sceptical, knowing that 3-D technology had always relied on seeing a split picture through colour filters to give the illusion of depth.
colour force n. Particle Physics the force that acts between quarks and between gluons by virtue of their colour (sense 24); the strong force.
ΚΠ
1977 New Scientist 29 Sept. 814/1 The esoteric ‘colour’ force that holds quarks together.
1996 Sciences July–Aug. 31/1 Although the quarks inside the nucleon do carry electric charge, the electromagnetic force between them is overwhelmed by the much more powerful color force.
2002 F. Close et al. Particle Odyssey ix. 170 Gluons participate in this colour world as ‘carrier’ particles. They transmit the colour force between one quark and another.
colour fringing n. Photography = fringing n. b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > qualities and effects > [noun] > fringes of false colour
fringe1891
fringing1912
colour fringing1917
1917 Monthly Abstr. Bull. (Eastman Kodak Co.) Nov. 185 Stereoparallax is eliminated so that close-ups free from color fringing may be taken.
1935 Discovery July 192/1 Excessive parallax, with consequent colour-fringing, is the inevitable result.
2006 Digital Camera Buyer No. 43. 82/2 This should help prevent moiré, colour fringing and shifting while improving resolving power.
colour gravure n. Printing photogravure in colour; an example of this.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > photomechanical or process printing > [noun] > photogravure or phototypography
heliography1845
photoglyphography1856
photoglyphy1858
phototypy1859
photogravure1873
dallastype1875
phototypography1875
heliogravure1879
autogravure1885
typogravure1885
helio-engraving1886
process engraving1889
gravure1893
colour gravure1900
1900 Great Round World 1 Nov. 160 For $6.00 we will mail a color-gravure, in 20 colors, of the Naval Battle of Santiago.
1929 Times 29 Oct. xvi/5 Printers..would thus be able to undertake colour-gravure printing in their own shops.
2004 G. Khoury True Brit 16/2 A succession of dynamic, exciting [comic] strips which made the most of colour gravure printing and large, tabloid pages.
colour guard n. a guard of soldiers given the duty of carrying and protecting the regimental colours; (now U.S.) spec. one in an infantry regiment consisting of a number of non-commissioned officers.
ΚΠ
1705 tr. G. Guillet de Saint-Georges Gentleman's Dict. ii. at Colours Colour-guard.
1761 Ess. Art War 305 A Guide..whom the Captain of the Guides has taken Care, at the beating of the General, to place at the Colour-Guard of the Regiment.
1862 N.-Y. Tribune 20 Sept. 5/3 Half their officers were killed or wounded, their colors shot to pieces, the Color Sergeant killed, every one of the color-guard wounded.
1961 J. K. Galbraith Jrnl. 6 Nov. in Ambassador's Jrnl. (1969) xii. 246 There was a small color guard and a handful of Indian students with bouquets.
2006 Monterey (Calif.) County Herald (Nexis) 1 July Enough troops turned out in camouflage battle dress uniforms to form a color guard, but no units marched in review.
colour harmony n. a harmonious relationship between two or more colours, esp. as created by an artist (cf. colour chord n.); (also occasionally) a similar relationship between varieties of tone and expression in music.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > art of colouring > [noun] > harmony of colours
harmoge1601
union1662
repose1695
value1706
keeping1715
melody1830
colour harmony1853
chord1856
1853 J. Ruskin Stones of Venice II. iv. 91 The vigorous depths of shadow in the Northern sculpture confused the architect's eye,..and thus injured his perception of more delicate colour harmonies.
1870 S. H. Hodgson Theory of Pract. I. 149 The tones and colour-harmonies of music calling up emotions.
1890 O. Wilde in 19th Cent. July 144 New and curious colour-harmonies of blue and green.
1937 Burlington Mag. July 46/2 Titian..by his power and the musical quality of his colour-harmony.
1992 Stars Mag. 8 Nov. 12/2 Strokes are lively and articulate; color harmonies are restrained yet fresh.
colour hearer n. [after German der Farben Mithörende (1881 or earlier)] a person who experiences coloured hearing.
ΚΠ
1881 Cincinnati Lancet & Clinic 5 Nov. 430/2 The ‘color-hearer’, Bleuler, associated with himself a colleague, Lehman, who only heard a tone.
1881 London Med. Rec. 15 Dec. 493/2 A student of medicine..stated..that while hearing he perceived colours, and this gave an impulse to further investigations. The ‘colour-hearer’, Bleuler, associated with himself a colleague..who only heard a tone.
1910 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 44 Among color-hearers there is a tendency for photisms that are light in color..to be produced by sounds of high quality, and dark photisms by sounds of low quality.
1998 K. T. Dann Bright Colors falsely Seen iii. 68 Color music supporters helped to reinforce the image of color hearers as aesthetically gifted.
colour hearing n. [after German Farbenhören (1881 or earlier); compare slightly later coloured hearing n. at coloured adj. and n. Compounds; compare also coloured audition n. at coloured adj. and n. Compounds and the discussion at that lemma] = coloured hearing n. at coloured adj. and n. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1881 Cincinnati Lancet & Clinic 5 Nov. 430/2 Color Hearing.—He who has never heard the expression ‘color hearing’, will hardly find his curiosity satisfied, if he look for it in a dictionary, for it is a newly formed word.
1881 London Med. Rec. 15 Dec. 493/2 Not knowing of another case of colour-hearing besides himself and his brother, whose perception of colours coincided in substance with his own, this peculiar talent would have been looked upon as unique.
1912 School Rev. 20 368 A curious example of this is seen in the phenomenon known to psychologists as pseudochromaesthesia or ‘color-hearing’.
1994 A. Theroux Primary Colors 207 We should mention, along with firecrackers, that color hearing is a form of synesthesia that manifests itself by the appearance in the mind of colors or shades whenever certain sounds are heard.
colour index n. a scale or listing of colours; spec. (a) Medicine the ratio of the quantity of haemoglobin to the number of red blood cells present in a blood sample (now rare); (b) Astronomy a number representative of the colour (and hence the temperature) of a star, equal to the difference in its magnitude (brightness) at two chosen wavelengths, typically blue and green-yellow, or ultraviolet and blue; (c) Geology a number expressing the percentage of dark-coloured minerals (typically ferromagnesian ones) in an igneous rock.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood > components of blood > blood corpuscle or plate > [noun] > red cells or corpuscles > colour index
colour index1908
the world > the universe > star > star-matter > [noun] > magnitude > colour index
colour index1921
the world > the earth > earth sciences > geology > mineralogy > [noun] > colour index
colour index1927
1869 Brit. Jrnl. Homœopathy 27 225 In no case does the colour-index furnish an identity of four terms, nor does the colorometer give identity at all.
1908 Practitioner Aug. 323 Generally the fewer the red corpuscles, the higher is the colour index.
1921 Discovery Feb. 38/1 The difference between the photographic and the visual magnitude of a star is therefore due to the colour of the star, and is called the colour-index.
1927 S. J. Shand Eruptive Rocks vii. 131 If a rock contains 17 per cent. of heavy minerals, we shall say that its colour ratio is 17 per cent., or that its colour index is 17.
1928 Lancet 28 Apr. 849/1 The reticulocytosis occurring in association with a remission is quickly followed by a fall in colour-index.
1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 162/1 A high color index implies a high content of magnesium, iron and often calcium.
1998 Artist Mar. 37/1 The paints are listed by paint name..and the colour index name (abbreviated pigment colour and a number, for example PY 35).
2008 M. S. Longair Galaxy Formation (ed. 2) xvii. 519 The quasars no longer exhibit ultraviolet excesses in the (U−B) colour index.
colour-keyed adj. = colour-coordinated adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [adjective] > corresponding or analogous > in physical shape, form, colour, etc.
suitable1548
congruent1578
congruous1664
colour-keyed1929
colour-coordinating1931
colour-coordinated1939
1929 Chicago Tribune 29 Mar. 22/3 (advt.) Arrow stylists have produced a new series of stripes, crisply fresh, skillfully placed and spaced, color-keyed to Spring itself.
1938 Miami (Okla.) Daily News-Record 10 Aug. 2 Face powder, rouge and lipstick for the cameo-complexious dictated by new, sentimental fashions... Color-keyed sets by Richard Hudnut.
2001 Chicago Tribune 7 Oct. xii. 1/1 The automaker's bread-and-butter sedan sports a new grille, headlamps, color-keyed aero-type bumper and chrome badging.
colour light signal n. Railways an electric fixed signal which gives instructions to the train driver by the colour of the light displayed, rather than by the position of the lights (cf. position light signal n. at position n. Compounds).
ΚΠ
1909 in Index to Signal Lit. (1911) 77 (title) Effects of electric headlights on color light signals at night.
1924 Wall St. Jrnl. 16 Aug. 2/4 New York Central has ordered 175 color-light signals.
2001 P. J. G. Ransom Snow, Flood & Tempest ii. 41 The line was track-circuited and broken up into additional sections automatically or semi-automatically by colour light signals.
colour light signalling n. Railways a system of signalling using colour light signals; cf. position-light signalling n. at position n. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1916 Electric Railway Jrnl. 25 Mar. 609/1 The standard aspects of the American Railway Association showed position-light signaling, but no color-light signaling.
1921 Railway Engineer 42 362/2 There are two kinds of light signals—colour light and position light. They have suddenly assumed greater importance because of..the opening..of a colour light signalling installation.
2007 P. Atterbury Along Lost Lines 40 Colour light signalling was first used in the 1920s, then spread rapidly over the network. However, the semaphore signal was still in widespread use in the 1980s.
colour magazine n. = colour supplement n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > parts and layout of journals > [noun] > supplement or pull-out section > types of
colour supplement1887
Sunday supplement1888
colour magazine1896
1896 Boston Sunday Globe 20 Sept. (Mag. of Humor & Stories) 6/7 (advt.) In next Sunday Globe's color magazine of wit and humor.
1905 Tribune Almanac 413 (advt.) The New-York Sunday Tribune Gives to its readers First—A 20-page Color Magazine containing good fiction by well-known authors [etc.].
1964 Observer 13 Sept. 5/5 A colour magazine to be included with the paper on Fridays.
2002 A. Pearson I don't know how she does It (2003) xxx. 260 This is one of those rare times when life approaches the condition of colour magazine. The domestic goddess entertaining her admiring parents-in-law in her lovely stylish home.
colour melody n. a collection of colours combining to holistic effect, akin to the combination of notes in a melody.
ΚΠ
1857 Proc. Lit. & Philos. Soc. Liverpool 11 137 We have in nature thousands of colour melodies, where a false tint would be like a false note in music.
1879 O. N. Rood Mod. Chromatics xviii. 316 The poetry of colour which leads the artist..to seize on colour-melodies as they occur in nature.
1908 Burlington Mag. Oct. 30/1 Only in certain carpets and in the finest stained glass period do we find the abstract colour melody at its finest.
2006 Guardian (Nexis) 6 May (Review section) 12 His procedures are also like those of a jazz composer, exploiting chromatic diversities within a given register, playing with interval and pitch, improvising on a colour melody.
colour-mixer n. (a) a trough or churn used for mixing dyes or pigments (now rare); (b) a person who mixes pigments or paints to obtain particular shades of colour; (c) a colour top or colour wheel (colour wheel n. (b)) used esp. for studying a person's colour vision; cf. mixoscope n.
ΚΠ
1774 Gazetteer & New Daily Advertiser 12 Jan. With the lease will be sold..a colour-mixer, two colour-mills.
1807 A. Aikin & C. R. Aikin Dict. Chem. & Mineral. I. 388/1 The proportions of each vary much according..to the fancy of the colour-mixer.
1872 All Year Round 16 Mar. 381/2 The great artist, Mr. Lascelles, to whom Harry had been colour-mixer, pupil, assistant, almost son.
1876 Catal. Special Loan Coll. Sci. Apparatus S. Kensington Mus. vii. 139 Mixoscope (colour-mixer).
1907 Pop. Mech. June 639 (caption) White lead and color mixers.
1969 Brit. Jrnl. Med. 26 281/1 Those subjects who had the best matches on the anomaloscope also had the best discrimination on the colour mixer.
2010 Weekend Austral. (Nexis) 23 Jan. (Review section) 12 He was supporting himself working as a colour mixer for the Dulux paint company.
colour model n. any system in which colours are represented as a set of numerical values.The set contains one value for each of the (typically three or four) components used in that system. Each component can be a colour (as red, green, and blue) or other quality (as hue, saturation, and lightness).
ΚΠ
1982 J. D. Foley & A. van Dam Fund. Interactive Computer Graphics xvii. 611 The purpose of a color model is to allow convenient specifications of colors within some color gamut.
2010 A. Hartman Adobe Illustrator CS4 v. 95 Each component—red, green, and blue—in the RGB color model is labeled with a value ranging from 0 to 255.
colour monitor n. (a) a device for monitoring the colour of a television picture (now rare); (b) (chiefly Computing) a monitor with a colour display.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > hardware > peripherals > [noun] > monitor
colour monitor1941
visual display unit1954
computer monitor1963
computer screen1966
VDU1968
VDT1975
monitor1976
Multisync1986
1941 Proc. IRE 29 98/2 The differences in color temperature between studio and outdoor lighting..can be corrected for by the use of an electrical color monitor at the transmitter.
1957 Science 26 July 178/2 The amplified signal is next fed through a color monitor where the picture is reproduced in color.
1984 Which Micro? Dec. 17/2 The Amstrad CPC464..comes with a colour monitor and cassette deck.
2005 I. Sinclair Build & Upgrade your own PC (ed. 4) vi. 120 The larger sizes of colour monitor (17 inches upwards).
colour music n. a form of artistic expression in which colours, esp. coloured lights, in movement are used to create visually effects similar to those created aurally by music.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > other visual arts > [noun] > colour music
colour music1844
1844 D. D. Jameson (title) Colour-music.
1903 A. A. Michelson Light Waves i. 2 A color-music, in which the performer, seated before a literally chromatic scale, can play the colors of the spectrum in any succession or combination, flashing on a screen all possible gradations of color..or the most gorgeous and startling contrasts and color chords.
1998 K. T. Dann Bright Colours falsely Seen iii. 67 The perennial delight in the visual magic of mobile colour in motion that has sustained interest in color music for so long.
colour name n. a word denoting a colour, or a phrase denoting a particular shade of colour; cf. colour word n.
ΚΠ
1837 S. Shaw Chem. of Compounds used in Manuf. Porcelain i. v. 293 These degrees are designated by the colour name for common use; and by suitable prefixes for the scientific.
1968 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 114 1071/2 Our use of about a dozen colour names categorizes 7 million hues.
1993 UNIX World May 93/1 More than 700 English-language color names, ranging from the primary colors..to exotic names like deep sky blue, papaya whip, and Navajo white.
colour organ n. a device which projects different combinations or sequences of colours to create a visual effect comparable to that created in sound by the music of an organ; cf. colour music n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > science of colour > [noun] > instruments combining colours
colour circle1854
colour top1855
chromatrope1860
colour box1870
wheel of colour1877
colour organ1881
colour wheel1909
1881 Cassell's Family Mag. 699/2 The different colours of the spectrum form a scale of light which has often been compared to the musical scale, and the idea has recently taken shape in what has been termed a colour-organ.
1895 Oracle Encycl. II. 119 A ‘Colour Organ’ has been invented, which casts combinations of colour upon a screen somewhat on the same principle as a musical organ discharges sounds.
1959 Collins Mus. Encycl. 591/2 The score of Prometheus [by Scriabin] includes a ‘colour organ’.
2008 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 7 Nov. c1 The technology puts visuals and sound hand in glove. ‘It goes back to the 1960s rock'n'roll shows where you have these color organs,’ he said.
colour palette n. a palette of different colours of paint, esp. as used by an artist; (now usually in extended use) a range or selection of colours from which one can choose.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > equipment for painting or drawing > [noun] > palette
palette1622
colour palette1803
slab1888
slant1897
1803 Hull Packet 1 Feb. (advt.) In Mahogany Boxes, 36 Cakes, Colour Palette, Marble Slab, Pencils, &c. &c. complete.
1930 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 8 Nov. 32/2 An artist who knows her color palette, anatomical balance and her historic periods.
2006 Ornament 29 37/1 Exquisitely patterned garments in which weavers used the full color palette available to them.
colour pan n. (in textile printing) a pan in which colours and thickeners are mixed together.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > surface and planographic printing > other surface-printing > [noun] > textiles > equipment
rolling press1675
cylinder1764
surface roller1815
colour plate1819
colour pan1834
hand block1835
sieve1839
toby tub1842
wheelbarrow-machine1856
tension-rail1890
1834 R. P. Tyrwhitt Rep. Courts of Exchequer 3 613 The steam apparatus, consisting of steam and colour pans not connected with any engine, and boilers, steam pipes and chests for heating the rooms, dye vats, &c. and securing a rapid process of drying.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 685/2 The mordant..and its appropriate thickeners are placed in a range of colour pans, in which the materials are thoroughly incorporated.
1908 Textile Amer. June 34/2 The boiling and mixing is brought about in steam jacketed pans of copper, fitted with mechanical stirrers, called planet stirrers, which revolve themselves as well as the color pan and can be removed after the operation is complete.
1976 Internat. Dyer, Textile Printer, Bleacher & Finisher 23 July 132 (advt.) The ‘colour-gate’..holds the applicator rollers, colour pans and doctor blade system is shown in the open position.
colour party n. Military a party of soldiers charged with carrying and protecting the colours of a regiment, typically consisting of two junior officers, who carry the colours, and four sergeants or other non-commissioned officers.
ΚΠ
1859 Field Exercise Infantry (rev. ed.) iii. 180 Supposing the battalion to consist of six companies, on the caution, the colour party will step back three paces.
1900 Pall Mall Mag. Apr. 558 On this face stood some companies of the 94th, with the colour party of that Regiment.
1996 Canad. Statesman (Bowmanville, Ont.) 5 June 10/4 Afterwards, the Legion's colour party brought flags to the tower, and LCDR Rev. Douglas Hall (N) (Ret.) gave the invocation and dedication of the clock.
colour pencil n. = coloured pencil n. at coloured adj. and n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > writing instrument > [noun] > pencil > other types of pencil
coloured pencil1735
colour pencil1799
propelling pencil1852
programme pencil1868
copying pencil1883
grease pencil1890
chinagraph pencil1943
pencil crayon1953
1799 Mercantile Advertiser (N.Y.) 29 July 1/5 A few sets of the beautiful crayon colour pencils.
1874 Rep. Vienna Universal Exhib. 1873 I. 644 Drawing requisites. Lead and colour pencils.
1969 Stud. in Bibliogr. 22 293 A phrase marked through in color pencil.
1992 Artist's & Illustrator's Mag. Oct. 6/2 (advt.) Water resistant colour pencils for artists.
colour phase n. each of two or more forms of a mammal, bird, or other animal distinguished solely by coloration; cf. phase n.2 2c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > markings or colourings > [noun] > cryptic or protective coloration > genetic or seasonal variation
colour phase1881
1881 R. Ridgway Let. 6 Apr. in Forest & Stream 14 Apr. 206/2 It has been considered by various writers to be a dark or melanistic phase of B. brachyurus, but in this view I cannot concur, no specimens among the many which I have examined, indicating that any light color-phase exists.
1927 C. Elton Animal Ecol. xii. 182 The arctic fox possesses two colour phases, one of which is brown in summer and white in winter, while the other is grey..and ‘blue’.
2003 Backwoods Home Mag. Nov.–Dec. 10/3 In years past, the other-than-black color phase was called a ‘Cinnamon Bear’, as if it was another species. But now it is commonly known that a cinnamon colored bear is just a rust-colored black bear.
colour piece n. a painting distinguished by and valued for its colours; an ornament or similar decoration used on account of its colour.
ΚΠ
1844 W. M. Thackeray Little Trav. in Fraser's Mag. May 526/1 By the side of one of the most astounding colour-pieces in the world, the ‘Worshipping of the Magi’, is a famous picture of Paul Veronese that cannot be too much admired.
1881 Kwong Ki Chiu Dict. Eng. Phrases 480 Color-piece, a piece of bric-a-brac, intended to produce an effect in a room by its peculiar color.
1903 House Beautiful Mar. 245/1 This most decorative color piece is framed in a broad band of gold and forms the only picture in the room.
1967 N. Millard Dried Flower Arrangem. i. 35 Three or four on a wooden platter on a low table can be an interesting and novel color piece and last well if handled with care.
colour plate n. one of a set of plates used in colour printing; a print made from such a plate, esp. in a book (cf. plate n. 17b).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > surface and planographic printing > other surface-printing > [noun] > textiles > equipment
rolling press1675
cylinder1764
surface roller1815
colour plate1819
colour pan1834
hand block1835
sieve1839
toby tub1842
wheelbarrow-machine1856
tension-rail1890
1819 A. Schlichtegroll tr. A. Senefelder Compl. Course Lithography 271 The different colour-plates [Ger. Farbplatten] are printed upon a black impression, which already contains the whole of the drawing.
1884 J. S. Hodson Guide Art Illustr. ii. ii. 206 One of these impressions is marked as a guide or key for preparing the several colour plates.
1920 S. Lewis Main St. x. 117 A magazine color-plate of a steep-roofed village in the Harz Mountains.
2005 Independent 9 May 50/3 The trader has got hold of an old ‘Herbal,’ razorbladed out the colour plates, packaged them individually and put them on sale at £25 each.
colour printer n. (a) a person or establishment that produces colour printing or makes colour prints; cf. printer n. 2; (b) a machine for printing in colour; cf. printer n. 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > hardware > peripherals > [noun] > printer
colour printer1869
drum printer1913
printer1946
1869 J. S. Russell Systematic Tech. Educ. Eng. People i. 10 Embossers, Painters, Dyers, and Colour Printers.
1903 U.S. Patent 742,338 1/2 The wrapper c is shown extended from a reel d through a size-printer e and through color-printers f and g.
1984 Which Micro? Dec. 73 (advt.) Atari 1020 colour printer—£99.
1997 Photo Answers Mar. 96/2 (advt.) Everything you need to know to become a competent colour printer.
2002 Digit Oct. 44/2 The Phaser 8200N is an affordable choice for groups of creatives who need a full-feature, networkable colour printer.
colour printing n. the practice or craft of printing in different colours; the action of a colour printer.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > manner or style of printing > [noun] > printing in colours
colour printing1822
chromotypography1851
chromotypy1851
process work1881
1822 P. Force U.S. Patent 3573X (title) Color printing.
1869 Eng. Mech. 31 Dec. 377/2 Colour-printing has now been brought to great perfection.
1891 Amer. Ann. Photogr. & Photogr. Times Almanac 1892 241 Color printing from original photographic negatives.
1906 Daily Chron. 26 Jan. 4/6 Java is the home of Batik, which is a kind of colour-printing on fabrics.
1991 Photo Answers Mar. 60/3 Although open dishes are satisfactory for colour printing you'll come across a problem, that of keeping the temperature of the chemicals constant.
2005 Digit Oct. 117/1 This A3+ model from Epson is a four-pass printer, which explains the slow speeds in colour printing.
colour question n. originally and chiefly U.S. (with the or other definite determiner) differences in race or skin colour, and relations between groups of people distinguished in these ways, as matters for debate or consideration.
ΚΠ
1854 Weekly Herald (N.Y.) 13 May 147/1 Mr. Renssellaer (colored) thought it would be difficult for anti-slavery men to cut the color question.
1922 S. G. Millin Adam's Rest ii. 159 I haven't been in South Africa much more than a year, and I can't quite appreciate the attitude of people here towards the colour question.
1940 R. Wright Native Son iii. 262 Maybe you've been brooding about this color question a long time, hunh, boy?
1991 Jet 2 Dec. 60/2 The enigmatic entertainer addressed the color question at length in an exclusive interview in Ebony.
colour reversal n. Film and Photography a development process which gives a positive transparency directly from an exposed film or plate, without an intervening negative stage; usually attributive.
ΚΠ
1913 Moving Picture World 19 July 364 I wish to place an initial order..with the understanding that you include color reversal attachment which has been omitted in your quotation.
1973 J. Burder Work Industr. Film Maker iv. 111 If a foot of 16-mm colour reversal film costs 3 units it will cost around 2 units to process the master.
2010 Arkansas Democrat-Gaz. (Nexis) 18 June 36 They worked from the original 16mm color negative, a 35mm color reversal intermediate, the original 35mm soundtrack negative and the original 1/4-inch audiotape recordings.
colour-ring v. Ornithology transitive to mark (birds) by colour ringing.
ΚΠ
1937 Brit. Birds 30 376 While colour-ringing other species this winter, I have had a number of Robins..coming to the trap.
2002 Jrnl. Avian Biol. 33 334/1 The adults were caught when the chicks were 7 days old. The parents were then sexed and colour ringed.
colour-ringed adj. Ornithology (of a bird) marked by colour ringing; wearing a coloured ring.
ΚΠ
1937 Brit. Birds 31 82 My own observations over the last three years based on colour-ringed birds [etc.].
2004 Jrnl. Appl. Ecol. 41 1131/1 Searches for colour-ringed birds throughout the breeding season were concentrated in these areas.
colour-ringing n. Ornithology the marking of birds using differently coloured rings (usually fixed to the legs) to distinguish individuals within a population.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > zoology > study of specific types of animal > [noun] > birds > ringing for identification
ringing1910
colour-ringing1939
1939 D. Lack in I. Cox Wild Life around Us ix. 94 This breast-waving of the robin is part of its fighting. Colour-ringing has shown that it is done by both owners of the territory against intruders of either sex.
2006 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 273 1376/1 Cooperative breeding is difficult to determine without colour-ringing or phenotypic differences among group members.
colour roller n. Manufacturing Technology (now rare) a roller that revolves in a colour box and transfers colour from it to a printing roller against which it presses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > treating or processing textile fabric > [noun] > printing > calico printing > other equipment
colour doctor1839
mill1839
sieve1839
colour roller1890
1824 London Jrnl. Arts & Sci. 8 127 I claim a bow and pulley as combined with a block-carriage and a colour-roller frame.
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 168 Between the colour-roller and the calico is a thin strip of steel which scrapes the printing-roller free of cotton.
1922 Color Trade Jrnl. 10 176/2 This ‘paste’ roller must, of course, have cut on its surface parts which impress the cloth on some or all of the other color rollers.
colour saturation n. = saturation n. 11a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [noun] > saturation
saturation1872
colour saturation1888
chroma1889
1888 Med. News 31 Mar. 356/2 An absolute ratio established between the amount of pupillary reaction and the degree of color saturation seen.
1930 Sel. Gloss. Motion Picture Techncian (Acad. Motion Pictures, Hollywood) Low color saturation, that is, containing a large proportion of white.
2000 Printing World 7 Feb. 17/2 This improves colour saturation and optical density.
colour scheme n. (a) an arrangement or combination of colours chosen for a particular purpose, as in furnishing or decorating a house, or in conveying information visually or graphically; (b) (in extended use) an arrangement or combination of colours appearing in the coloration of an animal or other feature of the natural world.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colour relationships > [noun] > colour scheme
colour scheme1855
scheme1884
colourway1941
the world > animals > animal body > markings or colourings > [noun] > cryptic or protective coloration
protective coloration1892
homochromy1899
camouflage1917
procrypsis1920
colour scheme1925
scheme of colour1925
crypsis1956
crypticity1956
1855 Fraser's Mag. Nov. 512 Lambert described in 1772..a colour-scheme not very dissimilar in intention from the complete hemisphere of hues and tones which Chevreul has described.
1896 Philos. Trans. 1895 (Royal Soc.) B. 186 662 The Pieridæ form a large and important group of butterflies... The typical colour-scheme of the group is built up of white, yellow, and black.
1914 G. Jekyll (title) Colour schemes for the flower garden.
1925 R. W. G. Hingston in E. F. Norton et al. Fight for Everest: 1924 265 They are well able to defend themselves and thus have no need of a special colour scheme.
1954 T. S. Eliot Confidential Clerk ii. 69 I came to have a look at the flat To see if the colour scheme really suited you.
1984 Mountain Res. & Devel. 4 254/2 The ‘traffic light’ colour scheme is used in general for differentiation of slope hazards.
2004 T. Wheeler Falklands & S. Georgia 112/2 Port Howard is postcard pretty, with nearly every building in the settlement painted in the same colour scheme of white with green roof, doors and windows.
colour screen n. (a) a plate of coloured material used as a colour filter, esp. in older methods of colour photography (now historical); (b) a screen (esp. on an electronic device) that shows images in colour.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > lens > filters
filter1874
light filter1874
colour screen1884
colour filter1891
mosaic screen1908
mosaic1911
sky filter1915
polarizer1935
polarizing filter1939
skylight filter1950
1884 E. Wallace Amateur Photographer (ed. 3) xii. 165 This color-screen may be placed either at the back or at the front of the lens.
1922 Gas Manuf., Distribution & Use (Brit. Commerc. Gas Assoc.) ii. 86/2 The incandescent gas light can be rendered more perfect by the use of suitable colour screens. When treated in this way the light is known as ‘artificial daylight.’
1935 Discovery July 188/2 The ruled colour screen is on a separate plate which is exposed in contact with the photographic plate.
1991 U.S. News & World Rep. 27 May 67/1 T3200SXC, a luggable laptop with a spectacular colour screen.
2005 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 30 June 12/2 Apple's large-capacity iPods now feature a colour screen for viewing photographs.
colour section n. = colour supplement n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > parts and layout of journals > [noun] > illustrated section
colour section1906
rotogravure1914
roto1920
1906 Agric. Advertising 15 491/2 The day will come, I think, when our great Sunday papers will give the retail advertiser a color section of their own.
1961 Times 21 July 9/3 The Sunday Times is planning to carry a colour section as part of every issue... It will be a self-contained section.
2003 S. White New Chinese Astrol. 193 Dragon men make scenes over everything from what time the news comes on TV to who gets to read the color section of the newspaper first.
colour sense n. the sense of colour; the power of discriminating colours or of assessing their aesthetic compatibility.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > types of vision > [noun] > colour
colour sense1867
colour sensitivity1888
trichromatism1895
trichromasy1911
1867 Q. Jrnl. Microsc. Sci. 7 32 We have next to consider the colour-sense; that is to say, the sense by which qualitative differences in light are perceived.
1880 Geiger's Developm. Hum. Race 49 The history of colour-sense is of paramount importance to the total development of sensation.
1936 Discovery Sept. 292/1 ‘Colour-circles’, showing complementaries opposite one another, are of great value in training the colour-sense.
1991 C. Eddy Stairway to Hell 34/1 Like disco, glam said that people should do whatever feels good (as long as they do it with good color sense).
colour-sensitive adj. sensitive or responsive to colour.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > treatment of plates, films, or paper > [adjective]
mercurialized1648
ferro-prussiate1815
sensitive1839
albumen1850
sensitized1851
bromized1853
waxed1853
salted1855
collodionized1859
collodioned1870
colour-sensitive1879
colour-sensitized1888
unsensitized1889
fumed1890
silvered1890
unfumed1891
orthochromatized1902
backed1906
hypersensitized1914
hypersensitive1937
1879 W. L. Lindsay Mind Lower Animals II. 221 Certain colours produce a singular and rapid effect on some animals... There is no one colour that is an irritant to all colour-sensitive animals.
1884 Photogr. Times & Amer. Photographer June 307/1 In acknowledgment of his great and astonishing invention of a color-sensitive collodion, it is resolved to present him with a premium of honor of 1,000 marks.
1967 Progr. Biphysics & Molecular Biol. 17 182 Vertebrate vision, at least in humans, operates predominantly via the color sensitive cones.
1998 What Car? Sept. (Used Car Suppl.) 34/2 The E-class is extremely colour-sensitive, with silver or gold finishes best for resale.
colour sensitiveness n. = colour sensitivity n.
ΚΠ
1874 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 12 756 The presence of silver nitrate influences the colour-sensitiveness of the iodide and bromide materially.
1911 Pop. Sci. Monthly Aug. 108 The differences in the color-sensitiveness of the fovea centralis, and the peripheral parts of the retina.
2000 U.S. Patent 6,020,115 3 At least one light-sensitive layer is constituted of a plurality of silver halide emulsion layers having the same color sensitiveness.
colour sensitivity n. the property or condition of being colour-sensitive; the degree to which something is colour-sensitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > types of vision > [noun] > colour
colour sense1867
colour sensitivity1888
trichromatism1895
trichromasy1911
1888 Science 23 Nov. 245/2 (heading) The alleged evolution of color sensitivity.
1935 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 235 11 The use of a filament lamp for the standardization of cells whose colour sensitivities differ widely from that of the eye.
1993 MacUser Oct. 31/1 Coolscan's color sensitivity, optical definition and..price tag have already made it the standard of quality and value in desktop film scanners.
2008 L. L. Christensen et al. Hidden Universe 139 A picture is constructed using exposures taken through red, green and blue filters that approximately match the colour sensitivity of the cells in our eyes.
colour-sensitized adj. (esp. of a photographic plate or emulsion) made to be colour-sensitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > treatment of plates, films, or paper > [adjective]
mercurialized1648
ferro-prussiate1815
sensitive1839
albumen1850
sensitized1851
bromized1853
waxed1853
salted1855
collodionized1859
collodioned1870
colour-sensitive1879
colour-sensitized1888
unsensitized1889
fumed1890
silvered1890
unfumed1891
orthochromatized1902
backed1906
hypersensitized1914
hypersensitive1937
1888 Photogr. News 17 Aug. 513/1 Recently several varieties of colour sensitised films have been commercially introduced.
2006 Brit. Patent 2,419,679 2 There are other materials in which image-forming dyes or dye components are intimately associated with the colour-sensitized silver halide grains.
colour sensitizer n. a substance which makes something (typically a photographic emulsion) more colour sensitive, or which confers colour sensitivity.
ΚΠ
1884 E. Wallace Amateur Photographer (ed. 3) xii. 164 Several other successful color-sensitizers have since been discovered, some of which, unlike Chlorophyl, may be employed with Gelatine dry plates.
1950 Pop. Mech. Oct. 111/1 They did develop the basic color sensitizers upon which Kodacolor and Kodachrome photography are based.
1998 Japan Chem. Week (Nexis) 6 Aug. 3 The new polymer is based on the same substance as UV-ray-sensitive one, but the new one uses a color sensitizer to make it sensitive to visible light.
colour separation n. chiefly Photography and Printing the process of obtaining from a given colour image separate images in each of three different colours, such that they give the original image when combined; = separation n. 14b; (also) each of the three images so obtained.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > [noun] > colour
heliochromy1855
photochromy1878
colour separation1904
separation1924
1904 H. O. Klein tr. A. F. von Hübl Three-colour Photogr. 115 If blue or red predominates in the finished print, we promptly blame the incorrect colour separation caused by the filters.
1931 F. R. Newens Technique Colour Photogr. iii. 25 This tri-pack gives extremely good colour separation.
1972 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 1971 335/2 A color scanner is a device which electronically produces color separations from a colored transparency.
2006 K. Tanioka et al. in J. Dakin Handbk. Optoelectronics I. C2.1. 914 Television cameras for both broadcast and professional use employ this type of colour-separation system.
colour service n. Military full-time service with a regiment, as distinguished from service on reserve.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military service > [noun] > type or manner of service > active
field service1596
active service1658
active duty1801
colour service1877
1877 Rep. Sel. Comm. Soldiers, Sailors & Marines 3/2 We should lose in the reserve the very best men if you took them at the end of their colour service and not at the end of their engagement.
1884 Sir F. S. Roberts in 19th Cent. June 1063 The period of colour-service was raised to seven years for soldiers at home.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 8 Feb. 8/3 Saturday's deputation asked for the recognition of colour service in the Forces for pensionable purposes when they reached the age of sixty.
1999 Soldier June 68/2 When I leave the Army in December I will have completed 12 years and eight months of colour service all, less a two-year ERE (extra-regimentally employed), in Osnabrück.
colour shop n. an establishment or workshop where pigments, dyes, paints, etc., are prepared or sold.
ΚΠ
1664 R. Boyle Exper. & Considerations Colours iii. xxix. 272 In a noted Colour-shop, I brought them by Questions to confess to me, that they made their Sap-green much after the ways by our Botanist here mention'd.
1738 J. Hoofnail New Pract. Improvem. Exper. Colours 54 A Pigment known in the Colour-Shops by the Name of Anotto.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 242 Filters for the colour shop of a print house are best made of wool.
1906 E. Nesbit Story of Amulet i. 35 Get me sand; silver sand from the oil and colour shop.
2000 Master Drawings 38 225/1 He later set up a ‘colour shop’, selling art supplies and prints imported from London dealers.
colour slide n. a coloured slide (slide n. 5, 7); spec. a photographic transparency or slide consisting of a coloured picture.
ΚΠ
1865 Mechanics' Mag. 17 Nov. 322/1 A new or improved colour slide and case for the use of artists and painters.
1886 Eng. Mechanic 12 Feb. 493/3 There are eight spaces..into which are fitted small wedge-like coloured glasses, composed of the primary colour... By having these colour slides wedge-like, a considerable range of intensity of colour is obtainable.
1894 Jrnl. Soc. Dyers & Colourists 10 8/1 I shall be pleased to give any information regarding the making of colour slides such as I have used.
1951 Alaska Sportsman 17 vii. 50 (advt.) Original 35 mm colorslides of Alaska.
2002 P. Herlihy Alcoholic Empire 168 The magic-lantern slides, which were in black and white, were forerunners of 35-millimeter color slides.
colour solid n. an actual or notional solid bearing examples of different colours; a three-dimensional representation of a colour model; cf. colour space n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > science of colour > [noun] > shade cards
colour chart1862
colour card1889
shade-card1895
colour atlas1905
colour solid1905
1905 A. H. Munsell Color Notation v. 53 A very elementary sketch of the Color Solid and Color Atlas..is all that can be given in the confines of this small book.
1995 E. Thompson Colour Vision ii. 48 The dimensions of hue, saturation, and lightness as displayed in the colour solid.
2005 R. G. Kuehni Color (ed. 2) 144 Psychological research in color progressed and resulted in several different proposals for geometrical color solids: a cone by Helmholtz, a tilted cube by Benson, a square double pyramid by Höfler.
colour space n. a notional space within which each of the colours expressed by a particular colour model lies; cf. colour solid n.The colours each lie at a unique point whose coordinates are given by the values specifying the colour in that model.
ΚΠ
1939 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 52 439 The fact that any color can be completely specified by three parameters suggests a possibility to represent any color as a point in space, whose three coördinates give directly the values of the three color attributes... Interpreted geometrically, such manifold constitutes a color space.
1980 Displays 2 48/1 Within this colour space individual colours are specified using the parameters hue, lightness and saturation.
2006 M. F. Barnsley Superfractals ii. 93 In applications to the high-quality image printing industry a four-dimensional colour space is used, whose axes are cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
colour staff n. now rare a pole used to bear a flag or ensign.
ΚΠ
1703 M. Martin Descr. W. Islands Scotl. 246 His Coat of Arms, and colour Staff is fixed in a Stone, through which a hole is made to hold it.
1800 Narr. Sketches Conquest Mysore 68 He held the colour staff with one hand, waved his hat with the other, and emphatically..called out ‘Huzza for Lieutenant Graham!’.
1912 E. Fraser War Drama of Eagles xii. 347 It was notified that the white Bourbon flag was again to be the standard of the Army, with a brass fleur-de-lis at the head of the colour-staff.
colour suite n. Mineralogy the range of colours exhibited by a particular mineral or gemstone.
ΚΠ
1804 Brit. Critic 24 648 Eleven plates are annexed to this volume, representing the crystals of some of the minerals mentioned, the ‘colour suite’ of the diamond and the saphire, and the ‘natural alliances’ of silver ores.
1874 H. M. Westropp Man. Precious Stones 3 The colour suite [of diamonds] is, however, extensive.
2008 A. Thomas Gemstones iii. ix. 220/1 Beryl occurs in many hues and seeking out suitable rough to build up an attractive and valuable colour suite is an ideal project for the novice.
colour symmetry n. symmetry with respect to the arrangement of different colours; an instance of this; (Physics) a symmetry group used in quantum chromodynamics, relating different colour states of quarks.
ΚΠ
1897 W. F. Stone Questions Philos. Art iii. 47 Why would the dissatisfaction be less if the lack of Colour-Symmetry were a vertical one?
1974 R. Arnheim Art & Visual Perception (new ed.) vii. 364 There is..a kind of color symmetry between top and bottom. The white garment in the nearest foreground corresponds to the white cloud in the farthest background.
1978 J. Tran Thanh Van Phenomenol. Quantum Chromodynamics 511 The discrepancies are too large to be explained by the small corrections from the exact color symmetry theory.
1998 M. Baake & R. V. Moody in J. Patera Quasicrystals & Discrete Geom. 2 The classification of invariant sublattices and submodules together with their colour symmetries.
2008 R. Beluševic Relativity, Astrophysics & Cosmol. II. 969 Colour [sic] symmetry is supposed to be exact, that is, the quark–quark force is independent of the quark colors involved.
colour television n. television in natural colours; (also) a television set that shows colour pictures; cf. sense 3b, black and white n. 1c.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > television > [noun] > types of television system
radiovision1924
colour television1927
phonovision1927
Scophony1932
stratovision1945
subscription television1945
Phonevision1947
pay television1950
subscription TV1950
telemeter1951
Web TV1952
pay TV1954
toll television1956
digital television1957
slot television1958
digital TV1959
satellite television1961
satellite TV1961
cable television1965
satellite1982
1927 Brit. Patent 255,057 5/2 By composing the screen of a mixture of such materials, colour television may be secured.
1957 W. D. Wright in R. W. G. Hunt Reprod. Colour 5 The development of colour photography and colour television.
1972 Daily Tel. 24 Nov. (Colour Suppl.) 7/3 The kids had broken a window, and the colour television had gone phut.
2001 Times 4 Apr. ii. 14/2 The scooter or colour television promised by the bride's family was not delivered and the girl was killed.
colour temperature n. the temperature of a furnace or a heated object as judged from its colour; (Physics) the temperature of a black body (a perfect radiator) that would radiate light of the same colour as a given light or light source.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > [noun] > all-absorbing body > radiation emitted by
colour temperature1882
black-body radiation1906
1882 London Med. Rec. 15 Apr. 128/2 Rays having a wave-length considerably greater than 546 millionths of a millimètre produce the sensation of a warm colour..and the rays of a wave-length considerably shorter than 546, produce the sensation of a cold colour... The spectrum, consequently, splits into a warm and a cold half. Between the two halves there are rays of medium wave-length, about 546, which correspond to the indifference-point for colour-temperature.
1889 Chem. News 18 Oct. 191/1 Several writers..have attributed the use of a fusible metal bath, and the determination of colour temperatures, as now generally received, to Hartley.
1916 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 181 418 By ‘color temperature’ of a solid body radiating by virtue of its temperature is meant that temperature of a black body at which its radiation matches in color that of the solid body in question.
1981 J. Monaco How to read Film (rev. ed.) ii. 98 A color stock balanced for 6000° Kelvin (the color temperature of an overcast sky) will produce an annoyingly orange picture if used with standard incandescent light sources with a color temperature of 3200°K.
2007 Dive Oct. 31/1 If the colour temperature of that light varied, a colour cast would result and the only way to counteract that was with a colour-correcting filter.
colour therapist n. a practitioner of colour therapy.
ΚΠ
1903 Pacific Coast Jrnl. Homœopathy Mar. 71/1 The color-therapist, who filters the rays of the luminary through different hued glass.
1956 Compl. Study Course in Colour-therapy (Internat. College Metaphysical Sci.) i. 5 The application of colour in the ways mentioned is not a difficult matter unless..one wishes to become a Colour Consultant, Colour Psychologist, or a Colour Therapist.
1979 Tucson (Arizona) Mag. Feb. 16/1 She needs more reds and greens in her surroundings and can wear orange to subdue her moods.., says..color therapist.
2001 Western Daily Press (Bristol) (Electronic ed.) 11 June According to colour therapist June McLeod green is open, calm, adaptable, relaxed, friendly and harmonious.
colour therapy n. [compare earlier chromotherapy n.] the use of colour, esp. projected coloured light, to promote physical or mental well-being.
ΚΠ
1906 Jrnl. Physical Therapy 2 181 In some future time light and color therapy will receive due attention, as it is a powerful therapeutic agent in various diseased conditions.
1932 Times 13 Dec. 1/6 (advt.) Artificial sunlight and colour-therapy treatment.—Apparatus for sale.
1950 F. Birren Color Psychol. & Color Therapy p. vii The first [desire] has been to assemble a wealth of data on color psychology and color therapy which has a credible basis.
2009 S. Fenton Simply Chakras iii. 19 You can take advantage of healing techniques such as crystal therapy, color therapy, and aromatherapy.
colour tone n. (a) a shade of a colour, esp. one having a particular quality of brightness, deepness, or hue, or producing a particular effect within a picture or other image; (as a mass noun) the distinctive qualities or visual effect of a shade of colour; (b) Psychology the purity or intensity of a perceived colour (rare).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [noun] > shade or tone
shadowing1580
shade1690
key1713
nuance1823
colour tone1853
colour value1857
hue1857
neutral1859
shadow-script1898
value1902
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > art of colouring > [noun] > general effect or scheme
colour1661
colouring1706
natural colour1720
coloration1778
palette1782
tonality1866
scheme1884
colour tone1896
1853 E. S. Sheppard Charles Auchester III. iii. vi. 194 The white and boundless ray of which all beams, all colour-tones, are born.
1875 tr. H. W. Vogel Chem. Light & Photogr. vii. 60 The small number of the colour-tones compared with the large number of musical tones is very striking.
1895 E. B. Titchener in Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 7 81 Farbenton, color-tone.
1896 Westm. Gaz. 18 Nov. 7/3 New designs produced in three styles of colour-tone, and black and white.
1907 Westm. Gaz. 13 Sept. 2/1 Scarlet hips..a flaming colour-tone in the grey-green of the fading hedgerow.
1937 Discovery July 216/1 The nature of light-sensation, colour-tone, colour-blindness.
1944 Harvard Jrnl. Asiatic Stud. 8 103 All embroidered in gold or silver thread, with slight differences in color tones achieved by using threads of contrasting colors to secure the heavier metallic thread.
1999 Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair: 1999 Handbk. 237/3 In this medium, colour tones are created by overprinting a series of separated simple colours.
colour top n. a top with the upper surface painted in coloured sections, esp. with the colours of the spectrum, so that the effects of the combination of these colours can be seen when the top is spun.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > science of colour > [noun] > instruments combining colours
colour circle1854
colour top1855
chromatrope1860
colour box1870
wheel of colour1877
colour organ1881
colour wheel1909
1855 Edinb. New Philos. Jrnl. 1 361 For the sake of excluding the colour-blind and of certifying the acuteness of visual perception of those who are to handle and interpret railway-signals, the colour-top will prove of great service in determining those points.
1886 Athenæum 21 Aug. 242/2 The mixture of colours apart from the mixture of pigments..is best illustrated by the use of the well-known colour-top.
1989 E. F. Provenzo & A. B. Provenzo 47 Easy-to-do Classic Sci. Exper. 35 (heading) How to make a color top.
colour transparency n. (a) transparency to coloured light (now rare); (b) a transparency (transparency n. 2c) bearing a picture in natural colours.
ΚΠ
1854 R. Hunt Man. Photogr. (ed. 4) ii. vii. 171 Instead of asking for an achromatic lens, meaning a lens destitute of colour transparency, we should ask for a diactinic lens, meaning one which is transparent to the chemical rays.
1883 E. Wallace tr. H. W. Vogel Progr. Photogr. since 1879 vi. 303 The glasses have a very unequal color-transparency.
1904 H. O. Klein tr. A. F. von Hübl Three-colour Photogr. 141 The principle on which the Photochromoscope or colour transparencies of trichromatic printing are based is the same.
1915 Photo-Era July 54/1 The exhibition will be divided into three sections: pictorial, color-transparencies, and a third..color-prints.
2005 Computer Buyer May 66/3 Many modern scanners capture images from negatives or colour transparencies.
colour-treat v. transitive to subject to a colouring process.
ΚΠ
1896 Decorator & Furnisher 29 54 The snake and lizard skins are not so new as the grained leather and pig skin, which can be color-treated so cleverly.
1951 H. C. Dake Agate Bk. vi. 62/1 It is suggested..that if the agate is to be color treated, the use of one of the many water soluble coolants be used in preference to the kerosene and oil mixture.
2004 Digital Photographer No. 24. 89/1 To utilise curves, just bend the line to individually colour-treat pixels.
colour-treated adj. that has been subjected to a colouring process.
ΚΠ
1942 Sci. Amer. July 8/2 When applied on polished metals, it makes them resemble copper, brass, bronze, color-treated aluminum and steel, or other metals.
2007 Sophisticate's Black Hair Styles & Care Guide Mar.–Apr. 95 How do I keep my color-treated hair moisturized?
colour triangle n. an approximately triangular array in which the different points represent in a systematic way the different colours, with the corners of the triangle representing three primary colours.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > science of colour > [noun] > diagrams
colour triangle1876
chromaticity diagram1944
chromaticity co-ordinates1951
1876 S. R. Koehler tr. W. von Bezold Theory of Color iii. 133 The theory of the three fundamental sensations likewise demands that the color-chart should be a triangle, and..the color-circle represented in Fig. 46 has been constructed with the aid of the color-triangle [Ger. des Farbendreiecks], that is to say, it is to be looked upon as..an enlargement of the small circle represented within the color-triangle.
2007 K. F. Ibrahim Newnes Guide Television & Video Technol. (ed. 4) ii. 15 The chrominance content of a colour picture may be represented by the colour triangle shown in Figure 2.3. Pure white is represented by a point W at the centre of the triangle.
colour twist adj. and n. (a) adj. designating a stem of a drinking glass which is made from a spiral or spirals of coloured glass, or a glass with a stem of this kind; (b) n. a drinking glass with a coloured, spiral stem.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [adjective] > style of glass > style of stem
knopped1869
baluster-shaped1878
twisted1897
colour twist1915
twisty1929
Silesian-stemmed1961
the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun] > glass > decorated or ornamented
wiederkom1825
passglas1897
twist1897
colour twist1965
1915 House & Garden Dec. 39/1 The opaque white twist stem—the color twist stem also—was obtained after the Venetian fashion of making millefiori glass.
1936 Burlington Mag. Oct. p. xxiii/2 Among table-glass there is a collection of colour-twist and baluster-stem glasses.
1965 P. M. Hubbard Hive of Glass ii. 22 My glass..was quite a small one, a colour-twist I wanted to believe was English.
1979 Radio Times 7 Apr. 25/2 We don't normally touch chipped [glass] items—though we did have a very fine colour twist with a slight chip which went for £800... You can still get a little opaque twist of the 1750s for £20–£30.
1997 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 29 Oct. 5 Also dating from 1760 are the far rarer colour twist glasses, with stems incorporating strands of red, blue, green or yellow.
colour value n. an amount or level of colour, esp. a relative level within a colour scheme or a system of colours.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [noun] > shade or tone
shadowing1580
shade1690
key1713
nuance1823
colour tone1853
colour value1857
hue1857
neutral1859
shadow-script1898
value1902
1857 B. H. Paul Man. Techn. Anal. xi. 303 The colour-value of the several samples will be directly proportionate to the amount of dilution requisite to produce equality of colour.
1898 W. Robinson Eng. Flower Garden (ed. 6) xiv. 198 The Carnation..has a fine colour-value of foliage in winter.
1930 Time & Tide 7 June 744 Music is now moving towards a phase in which ‘colour values’ will be the principal means of expression.
1961 R. M. Dashwood Provinc. Daughter 107 Fanny..has much to say about Colour Values and Recessive Tones and contrasting wallpapers.
2004 Personal Computer World June 190/1 Vectorscope and waveform displays which provided a graphical representation of the brightness and colour values in a video clip.
colour vision n. [compare slightly earlier colour blindness n.] the ability to perceive or differentiate between colours.
ΚΠ
1798 Mem. Literary & Philos. Soc. Manch. 5 i. 28 (header) Extraordinary facts relating to the vision of colours: with observations.]
1853 Monthly Jrnl. Med. Sci. Dec. 503 Mr. N. had a brother and a cousin as defective in colour-vision as himself.
1954 Househ. Guide & Almanac (News of World) 211/2 Tests of colour vision should be instituted at two stages. Firstly, there should be tests at school to discover those who are seriously defective.
2009 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Apr. 40/1 Almost all nonprimate mammals are dichromats, with color vision based on just two kinds of visual pigments.
colourway n. a combination of colours on a textile, furnishing, etc.; a colour scheme.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colour relationships > [noun] > colour scheme
colour scheme1855
scheme1884
colourway1941
1941 Manch. Guardian 26 Nov. 1/6 (advt.) Furnishing repp in 8 colour ways.
1951 Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram 12 Aug. (Mag. section) 5/2 (advt.) Just received from John Roller 4 new wallpaper patterns in 4 new colorways.
1990 A. Jerrehian Oriental Rug Primer (ed. 2) Pref. p. xii Competitiveness between the new rug producting areas..has caused them to be made in colorways and design adaptations more suitable to prevailing American tastes.
2007 Glamour Apr. 187/1 This cute and compact mobile phone is styled with leather and metal-inspired details and comes in two fabulous colourways—chrome and black or girlie powder pink.
colour-weak adj. (of a person) that has difficulty in distinguishing some colours. [Probably after colour weakness n. Compare German farbenschwach having a weakness in colour vision (1879 or earlier; earlier in sense ‘pale, not intensely coloured’ (mid 19th cent. or earlier)). Compare earlier colour-defective adj. and n., colour-blind adj.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [adjective] > colour blind
dichromic1836
dichromatic1842
colour-blind1847
green-blind1868
red-blind1873
blue-blind1877
red–green1878
achromatopsic1883
dyschromatoptic1886
colour-weak1893
violet-blind1894
monochromatic1897
protanopic1898
protanomalous1911
tritanopic1915
deuteranomalous1932
tritanomalous1943
colour-defective1958
protan1961
1893 Yale Psychol. Stud. 105 The color-weak person to whom weak green is the same as gray (white at a distance) is utterly confused.
1924 R. M. Ogden tr. K. Koffka Growth of Mind v. 268 Being ‘colour-weak’ [Ger. farbenschwach], I see red and green only under favourable conditions.
1999 C. M. Brown Human–Computer Interface Design Guidelines 67 Colors that are often confused with each other by color-weak users can be replaced.
colour weakness n. the characteristic of being colour-weak. [In quot. 1891 after German Farbenblindheit, lit. ‘colour blindness’ (C. Lucanus 1890, in Archiv f. Augenheilkunde 21 42; also used earlier: see colour blindness n.). Compare German Farbenschwäche weakness in colour vision (1879 or earlier; earlier in sense ‘paleness, lack of intensity of colour’ (mid 19th cent. or earlier)). Compare earlier colour blindness n.]
ΚΠ
1891 Ann. Universal Med. Sci. 4 b21 The transition from normal color perception to typical color-blindness is first noticed in a decreasing ability to recognize violet; red follows, but to a less degree, while blue and yellow remain normal. This condition he [sc. Lucanus] terms color-weakness.
2008 Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Florida) (Nexis) 22 Oct. The light is mounted on horizontal mast arms. Motorists with color weakness should remember that the red light is on the left and the green light is on the right.
colour wheel n. (a) a wheel or disc for applying colour in a piece of apparatus; (b) a device consisting of a small circular table on which can be placed a disc having two or more colours, so that the combination of the colours may be observed when the table is made to rotate; (c) a disc that has segments of different colours arranged around the circumference, used in art, interior design, etc.; = colour circle n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > science of colour > [noun] > instruments combining colours
colour circle1854
colour top1855
chromatrope1860
colour box1870
wheel of colour1877
colour organ1881
colour wheel1909
1848 U.S. Patent 5688 3/1 Partially rotate the wheel..to the extent required to bring the color wheels to act entirely on a fresh surface of warps.
1900 U.S. Patent 648,347 2/2 A pair of printing-rollers..the latter of which is..kept ‘inked’ by a color-wheel.
1909 C. E. Seashore Elem. Exper. Psychol. ii. 15 Revolve a black and white disk upon the color-wheel and adjust the proportions of black and white until the resulting gray matches.
1935 Farming in S. Afr. June 265/2 The colour wheel..is used as a guide to grouping colours in the home.
1960 U.S. Patent 2,927,824 1 The vehicle manufacturer may paint the wheel structure any color..and thereby save cost in paint and scheduling certain color wheels to be mounted.
1974 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Apr. 94/2 A device for studying color fusion is the color wheel. Two or more colors are place on the wheel, which is then rotated rapidly.
2005 Period Living & Trad. Homes Apr. 67/1 Most professional designers swear by the colour wheel—a circle containing all the colours of the spectrum.
colour word n. a word denoting a colour; cf. colour name n.
ΚΠ
1877 19th Cent. Oct. 373 Of all the colour-words this..has the largest and most varied application in Homer.
1921 G. Jekyll Colour Schemes for Flower Garden 80 It is not as if the right colour-words were wanting, for the language is rich in them—violet, lavender, lilac, mauve, purple.
1964 E. A. Nida Toward Sci. Translating iii. 35 The Tarahumara in northern Mexico have five basic color words, including one term siyonomi, which covers both green and blue.
1994 S. Pinker Lang. Instinct iii. 62 And where languages do differ in their color words, they differ predictably, not according to the idiosyncratic tastes of some word-coiner.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† colourn.2
Obsolete. rare.
= cully n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > [noun] > gullible person, dupe
foola1382
woodcockc1430
geckc1530
cousinc1555
cokes1567
milch cow1582
gudgeon1584
coney1591
martin1591
gull1594
plover1599
rook1600
gull-finch1604
cheatee1615
goata1616
whirligig1624
chouse1649
coll1657
cully1664
bubble1668
lamb1668
Simple Simon?1673
mouth1680
dupe1681
cull1698
bub1699
game1699
muggins1705
colour1707
milk cow1727
flat1762
gulpin1802
slob1810
gaggee1819
sucker1838
hoaxee1840
softie1850
foozle1860
lemon1863
juggins1882
yob1886
patsy1889
yapc1894
fall guy1895
fruit1895
meemaw1895
easy mark1896
lobster1896
mark1896
wise guy1896
come-on1897
pushover1907
John1908
schnookle1908
Gretchen1913
jug1914
schnook1920
soft touch1924
prospect1931
steamer1932
punter1934
dill1941
Joe Soap1943
possum1945
Moreton Bay1953
easy touch1959
1707 in H. Playford Wit & Mirth (new ed.) III. 94 And all my wealth they took by stelth, Thus was a poor colour trick'd.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
colourcolorv.
/ˈkʌlə/, U.S. /ˈkələr/ I. Senses relating to colour n.1 I.
1. † b. intransitive. Of a substance: to impart colour to something; to dye. Frequently with a colour name as complement. Obsolete (rare after 17th cent.)
a. transitive. To impart colour to; to impregnate with colour. In early use usually in passive. to be coloured: to be of the specified colour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colouring > colour [verb (transitive)]
dyea1000
huec1000
litc1230
coloura1325
paint?c1335
infecta1398
taint1471
recolour1566
becolour1567
tinct1594
colorate1599
colourize1611
tincture1616
tint1791
encolour1850
pigment1896
a1325 Diuersa Cibaria in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 49 Milke of alemauns & [flour] of rys & god poudre of gyngere & sucre, & [hit] schal beon icolored wiþ sanc dragon.
1381 Diuersa Servicia in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 70 (MED) Do þereto sugur & safroun þat yt be wel ycolowrd.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. xiii. xxii. 674 Þe Reede See..is ycolourede wiþ reede waters..and is nouȝt suche of kynde, but he is but yhewede and ydeyede.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 456 Þe rauen..watz colored as þe cole.
c1430 (c1380) G. Chaucer Parl. Fowls (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1871) l. 443 As the frosche rede rose newe A-ȝen the somyr sunne coloured is..al wexen gan hire hewe.
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 47 Colour hit with safroune.
a1600 (?c1535) tr. H. Boece Hist. Scotl. (Mar Lodge) ix. i. f. 288v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Colour The cawsay..was all colorit bludy and rede.
1725 H. Sloane Voy. Islands II. 54 Notty is added to chocolate to colour it.
1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 13 A skin Not coloured like his own.
1806 B. Hawkins Let. in Georgia Hist. Soc. Coll. (1916) IX. 430 A vat of ooze to colour the leather.
1877 Globe Encycl. II. 500/2 This bird, sometimes named ‘Pharaoh's chicken’, is coloured of a general white.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xliii. 861 A silver salt is coloured by exposure to light.
1970 Encycl. Brit. X. 163/1 The high-silica rocks are generally light coloured.
2001 N.Y. Times 13 May iv. 7/1 An intravenous solution containing a liquid multivitamin that colors the fluid a bright yellow.
ΚΠ
1582 in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1599) II. i. 163 Such things as colour blew.
1611 E. Aston tr. J. Boemus Manners, Lawes, & Customes xxv. 465 Their garments are of a fine white Cotton or Downe,..dyed with the Iuyse of these sea fishes that coloureth purple.
1662 C. Merrett tr. A. Neri Art of Glass xcv Sometimes the powders colour more and sometimes less.
1873 Chem. News 30 May 264/2 The graphitic acid obtained from the foliaceous graphites does not colour, and has no covering-power.
c. transitive. To dye or tint (hair).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > beautify (the hair) [verb (transitive)] > colour
dyec1386
colour1600
henna1851
blondine1894
peroxide1899
tint1921
highlight1935
rinse1959
blue-rinse1962
streak1965
1600 Abp. G. Abbot Expos. Prophet Ionah 91 Doth a Prophet colour his haire? or annoynt his eyes with stibium?
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis iv. 69 A Mineral called Alcohol, with which they colour the hair of their Eye-brows.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 461. ⁋13 The ingenious Authors of Blacking for Shoes, Powder for colouring the Hair.
1758 Considerations upon War 260 He says, that a woman who paints, or colours her hair, corrupts and violates the work of God.
1874 A. Trollope Phineas Redux I. xxix. 245 Because a man greases his whiskers, and colours his hair, and paints his eyebrows, and wears kid gloves, by George, they'll go through fire and water after him.
1891 Chicago Tribune 7 June 36/7 A hair colorist in the New York World: I color hair for a living.
1970 in R. Thorp & R. Blake Music of their Laughter 32/2 I color my hair. Naturally it's dirty blonde.
1989 N.Y. Woman Oct. 48/3 Jet, a former colorist there, confides, ‘During a consultation about coloring their hair, men'll say, Do you think you could also put some on my chest?’
2006 C. C. E. Vermaak Confessions of Dyslexic Virgin 194 Mom never wore any form of make up, never coloured her hair, plucked her eyebrows, or did anything noticeable to be more beautiful.
2.
a. transitive. To apply a colour or colours to the surface of (something) for decorative or artistic purposes; to paint, stain, etc., with a colour or design. Formerly also with †over.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colouring > staining > stain [verb (transitive)]
distain1393
wanhuea1500
colour1501
imbrue1529
stain1655
restain1843
imbue1850
1501 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 83 The stooll..coloord and garnyschyd wt scalepps and othyr sygnys of Seynt Jamys.
a1527 R. Thorne in R. Hakluyt Divers Voy. (1582) sig. C2v The coastes..I haue coloured with yellow.
1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Eviii The Women of Ailgna vse to colour their faces..whereby they think their beautie is greatly decored.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 86 The rest is dried Bricks, coloured ouer with Posies of Arabique and like worke.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 85 The Painters are to colour over their windowes thrice.
1707 Philos. Trans. 1706–7 (Royal Soc.) 25 2398 They colour them [sc. playing cards] by the help of several Patterns or Stanesiles, as they call them.
1768 in Amer. Hist. Rev. (1997) 102 626 The epithet of 'red' is given to these Indians, from their universal practice of colouring their garments..and every other utensil belonging to them with red ochre.
1805 W. Wordsworth Waggoner i. 92 Coloured all by his own hand.
1867 Boy's Yearly Bk. 830/2 Various methods have been applied in colouring the outside of models.
1935 A. M. Lindbergh Let. 17 Aug. in Locked Rooms & Open Doors (1974) 297 He has also read the paint-book—not colored it yet.
1997 L. Hunter Parenting on your Own v. xx. 209/1 With young children, begin with a picture to color.
b. transitive. figurative and in figurative contexts. Cf. branch II.
ΚΠ
?1531 J. Frith Disput. Purgatorye ii. g6v If his matter had bene anye thinge likelye, he wolde haue coloured it if [read in] a nother facion.
1590 W. Clever Flower of Phisicke 59 Dipt and coloured euery day in wicked practices.
1637 R. Humfrey tr. St. Ambrose Christian Offices i. 104 The use..of ancients..doth colour and beautifie the manners of young men.
1661 W. Lower Enchanted Lovers i. ii. 13 A passion painted, And coloured with sighs.
1739 R. Savage Of Public Spirit (ed. 2) 14 With Good and Ill, in chequer'd strife, Various the Goddess colours human life.
1795 E. Fenwick Secresy I. xiv. 223 I feel a concern that you should colour with such darkened hues, so unimportant a circumstance.
1840 Godey's Lady's Bk. Feb. 71/2 Such love would colour the path of life with fairy hues.
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 Apr. 3/1 As the sun colours flowers, so art colours life.
1968 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 114 951/1 A neurotic overlay may colour the picture.
2005 M. Babb When did Caesar become Salad & Jeremiah Bullfrog? vii. 142 If Jesus, in His efforts to color His world with love, had only used one color and never ventured outside the lines.
c. transitive. To give (coins or pieces of base metal) an appearance of silver or gold for the purposes of counterfeiting. Cf. colouring n. 1b. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1718 E. Hunt Abridgement Statutes Ireland 44 If any Person..shall colour, guild, or case over with Gold or Silver..any Coin resembling her Majesty's Coin..every such Person, his Aiders and Abetters, shall be guilty of High-Treason.
1815 Cases argued & adjudged in Court of King's Bench (ed. 2) 370 Make the impression of scepters on divers pieces of silver coin of this realm, called sixpences, and to colour such pieces of the colour of gold.
1889 Chambers's Encycl. III. 335/1 It is a high crime and offence..to colour coin or metal with intent to make it pass for genuine gold or silver coin.
1934 H. A. C. Sturgess & A. R. Hewitt Dict. Legal Terms 43/2 To colour or otherwise alter genuine or counterfeit coin.
d. intransitive. To apply colour to a picture, object, etc., for decorative or artistic purposes; to practice the art of painting, etc., in colour.figurative in quot. 1737.
ΚΠ
1737 M. Green Spleen 450 When fancy tries her limning skill To draw and colour at her will.
1771 Mem. Lady Woodford I. 26 You draw and colour pretty well for the time you have learnt.
1811 L.-M. Hawkins Countess & Gertrude III. lviii. 259 She sketched objects; she colored from nature.
1856 G. W. Fulcher & E. S. Fulcher Life T. Gainsborough v. 58 His landscapes showed that he could select with taste, color with skill, and execute with freedom.
1918 Primary Educ. Feb. 129/1 M. Deville..holds that any normal boy or girl can be taught to draw and color as easily as..to read and write.
1990 P. Schiller & J. Rossano Instant Curriculum 63 Let children stand around the table and color with crayons.
e. transitive. Esp. of a child: to use a pen, crayon, etc., to fill in (an outline) with colour. Cf. colouring in n.
ΚΠ
1972 S. J. Parlato Films vii. 90/1 One girl mishandles a library book by dropping it and coloring in a picture.
1982 Manch. Guardian Weekly 10 Jan. 21/4 Looking back at 1981 is like flicking through the pages of a history book which someone has been colouring-in with felt-tip.
1990 Sydney Morning Herald 22 June 13 They coloured in pictures of coins and iceblocks, and they worked out the distance from Ghost Town to a bridge on a treasure map.
2004 D. Thompson in P. Travers & G. Klein Equal Meas. i. 12 This means there are history units where Year 8 pupils are colouring in pictures of Henry VIII's wives or selected Norman castles.
3. † c. transitive. To express by blushing. Cf. blush v. 3c. Obsolete.Apparently an isolated use.
a. transitive. Of a blush, an emotion, etc.: to cause (the cheeks, face, etc.) to redden.
ΚΠ
1614 J. Sylvester tr. J. Bertaut Panaretus 53 in Parl. Vertues Royal Some little choler colouring her cheek.
1668 H. P. Cressy Church-hist. Brittany xvi. vi. 386 One of the Monks adventuring to touch her body, a lively blush coloured her cheeks.
1769 P. H. Treyssac de vergy Lovers I. x. 32 A blush instantly coloured my cheek.
1821 A. M. Porter Village of Mariendorpt IV. ix. 406 The flush of unquenched sensibility instantaneously coloured the face of Rhinegravestein.
1856 Rambler Mar. 187 A faint flush coloured Brother Gregory's pale cheeks as the Father came up and took his hand.
1918 W. A. White In Heart of Fool xliii. 507 Her bright, glassy eyes flashed. Anger colored her face.
1968 S. Barstow Raging Calm xv. 201 A deep blush coloured Roger's fair skin.
2010 T. Bond Secrets of Beauty Therapist ii. 33 Shame suddenly coloured her cheeks and tears burned her eyes.
b. intransitive. To become red in the face (with shame, anger, etc.); to redden, blush. Also with up.In quot. 1616 apparently with punning allusion to the acquiring of a playing card or hand of the required colour in a gambling game.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > aspects of emotion > manifestation of emotion > manifest itself [verb (intransitive)] > change colour > be or become red with emotion
redOE
glowc1386
blushc1450
colour1616
reddena1648
crimson1780
the world > life > the body > skin > complexion > redness > [verb (intransitive)] > blush
redOE
rudOE
glowc1386
blushc1450
colour1616
paint1631
reddena1648
vermilion1699
mantle1707
flush1709
crimson1780
rouge1780
ruddy1845
smoke1862
mount1894
rose1922
1616 B. Jonson Epigrammes cxii, in Wks. I. 805 I pitty thy ill lucke; That both for wit, and sense, so oft doth plucke, And neuer art encounter'd, I confesse: Nor scarce dost colour for it, which is lesse.
a1645 W. Strode Floating Island (1655) ii. iii As for my Sister, shee's one I'm sure: She colours for it.
a1658 J. Durham Clavis Cantici (1668) 209 Not shamelesse and affronted that cannot blush, but coloured (to say so) with shamefastnesse and blushing, which though they seek to hide, yet it appears in them.
1729 C. Johnson Village Opera i. i. 16 You colour, Girl; why so frighted?
1750 Hist. Charlotte Summers I. ii. vi. 56 At these Words, which Lady Bountiful would not have uttered if her Passion had given her Leisure to reflect, Mr. Crofts coloured up like Scarlet.
1775 F. Burney Early Diary (1889) II. 17 ‘How can you say so, Sir?’ cried Bell..colouring, and much fidgetted.
1836 F. Marryat Japhet II. x. 96 Her ladyship coloured up with rage.
1876 J. G. Holland Story of Sevenoaks (new ed.) xii. 162 He colored as if he had been detected in a crime.
1947 ‘N. Shute’ Chequer Board x. 290 He coloured hotly, and wished desperately for eloquence that he might make some..smart rejoinder.
1996 F. Chappell Farewell I'm bound to leave You (1997) 166 She peered at him closely..and then said, ‘I believe you to be Orlow Jackson.’ He colored up and said, ‘That's who I am all right.’
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > skin > complexion > redness > [verb (transitive)] > blush
emblooma1529
staina1547
blush1592
gilda1616
flush1697
overflush1811
colour1824
1824 S. E. Ferrier Inheritance I. xiv. 151 ‘You understand the difference, don't you, Miss St. Clair?’ who only coloured a reply.
4. intransitive. To take on colour, become coloured; to change colour; spec. (of fruit, esp. grapes) to attain the colour associated with ripeness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > change of colour > change colour [verb (intransitive)]
turn1568
chameleonize1599
to turn (one's) colour1604
discolour1612
colour1667
stir1792
1667 H. Stubbe in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 2 497 The Sea coloureth from green to darkish, and so to blue.
1777 J. Richardson Dict. Persian, Arabic & Eng. 608 Beginning to colour (grapes).
1844 Pract. Mechanic Jan. 131/1 The water begins to colour at the top, and as the absorption [sc. of ammonia]goes on, the colour passes gradually down.
1882 Garden 3 June 389/1 A marvel to me that..Grapes colour so well as they do.
1907 J. D. Palmer Pract. Text-bk. Chem. 56 A solution of Carpain in carbon disulfid slowly colors yellow.
1962 L. D. Prior Trees in Canberra 41 It colours beautifully in autumn, a clear yellow, and is also an attractive tree in full leaf.
2003 J. Ferguson & B. Mücke Gardener's Year 122 Some holly berries colour in autumn and remain attractive till spring.
II. Senses relating to colour n.1 II.*† 9. intransitive. To be in agreement or accord with; to be consistent with. Obsolete.
5. transitive. To embellish (language, an oration, a literary work, etc.) with rhetorical or poetic ornaments.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > ornateness > embellish [verb (transitive)]
flourish13..
coloura1393
embellish1447
pounce1576
thrum1590
foil1611
embroider1614
figurate1652
trick1759
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 1625 Thei spieken plein after the lawe, Bot he the wordes of his sawe Coloureth in an other weie Spekende.
a1425 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Linc. Inn) (1952) l. 2185 (MED) Þis batail destutid [read destituted] is Jn þe French..Þer fore Y haue hit to colour Borowed of þe Latyn autour.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 258 (MED) This maner of colouring speche is..myche had in Holi Scripture.
1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani v. xiii. sig. J.i With plentuous oracyon were able to encrease & delate to colour & garnysshe any maner thyng neuer so baren, symple, or homely.
1560 T. H. tr. Ovid Fable Narcissus sig. B Ouid..Doth collour in so wonderfull a sorte That suche as twyse, refuse to reade a lyne..Shall neuer gather Ouids meanyng straunge.
1584 J. Lyly Alexander, Campaspe, & Diogenes iii. i. sig. C2 I am too young to vnderstande your speache, thogh old enough to withstand your deuise: you haue bin so long vsed to colours, you can do nothing but colour.
1613 P. Forbes Comm. Rev. To Reader, f. 2v Such speeches largely amplified and cunningly coloured, amongst a simple people.
1663 J. Mayne tr. Lucian Part of Lucian sig. Cc 2 Not to trifle before the Senate, or to colour the businesse with eloquence, but to present it naked to them.
1762 Brit. Mag. Sept. 490/2 Every simile ought..to be coloured with the warmest tints of poetry.
1792 W. Gilpin Three Ess. i. 18 (note) Language may gild.., and colour with the dies of fancy.
a1821 J. Keats Otho i. iii, in R. M. Milnes Life, Lett. & Lit. Remains Keats (1848) II. 135 We have no eloquence to colour justly The emperor's anxious wishes.
1884 Harper's Mag. Oct. 797/1 A cultivated scholar, who, with incomparable felicity of expression and an unsurpassed lightness of exact touch,..exquisitely colors his thought.
1920 J. H. Moulton in A. S. Peake Comm. Bible 592/1 Where Luke is telling his own story independently, with no motive for colouring his language after the LXX, he uses the Common Greek of educated men's daily speech.
1993 R. A. Stradling & M. Hughes Eng. Musical Renaissance ii. v. 142 Even today,..music critics refrain from colouring their speech with familiar Shakespearian quotations.
6.
a. transitive. To portray in a false light; to put an unfair or untrue interpretation on (words, facts, evidence, etc.); to misrepresent, falsify. Cf. miscolour v. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > misrepresentation > misrepresent [verb (transitive)]
disguise1398
colourc1400
abuse?a1439
wrest1524
beliec1531
to spell (one) backward1600
misuse1609
bowa1616
falsify1630
misrepresent1633
traduce1643
garble1659
miscolour1661
misrender1674
travesty1825
misdescribe1827
skew1872
misportray1925
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xix. l. 343 (MED) Confessioun & contricioun..Shal be coloured so queyntly and keuered vnder owre sophistrie.
a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 364 (MED) Alȝif þe fende coloure it, and medle good wiþ þe yvel.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in Wks. 267/2 This is your verye doctrine, how so euer ye colour it.
1594 T. Lodge & R. Greene Looking Glasse sig. B3v It was your deuise that, to colour the Statute.
1620 T. Cooper Cry & Reuenge of Blood iii. 28 Pretence of law, & equity must colour the fact, that so it may passe currant with men, what is abhominable in the sight of God.
1641 N. Richards Poems Sacred & Satyricall 50 Colour Religion, with meere gullerie, Wrest sacred Text, to maintaine Roguerie.
1765 J. Wesley Let. 14 May in Wks. (1835) IV. 204 Do not wrest, and wiredraw, and colour my words.
1786 J. Jay in J. Sparks Corr. Amer. Revol. (1835) IV. 135 The facts are inaccurately stated, and improperly colored.
1845 N. Amer. Rev. July 2 The writer has shown..commendable impartiality in the narration of events the history of which has been too often distorted and colored by prejudice or malevolence.
1860 C. Dickens Let. 2 May (1997) IX. 244 The evidence has been suppressed and colored.
1908 Homiletic Rev. Mar. 192/2 Of what account will be the preacher who..refuses to be impassioned lest he should color the truth?
1994 J. B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible 472/2 (note) Containing fact and truth, coloured and distorted so as to injure.
b. transitive. To represent (a wrong or hostile act, intention, etc.) in a positive manner; to disguise with or under the appearance of something acceptable; to put a favourable gloss or ‘spin’ on. Formerly also with †out, †over.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > present speciously [verb (transitive)]
showc1175
feignc1340
clothe1393
colourc1400
gloze1430
pretence1548
whiten1583
maska1593
vizard1628
tissuea1639
to whiten up1746
act1790
veneer1875
histrionize1876
window dress1913
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > excuse (a person or fault) [verb (transitive)] > extenuate
whiteOE
gloze1390
colourc1400
emplasterc1405
littlec1450
polish?c1450
daub1543
plaster1546
blanch1548
flatter1552
extenuate1570
alleviate1577
soothe1587
mincea1591
soothe1592
palliate1604
sweeten1635
rarefy1637
mitigate1651
glossa1656
whitewash1703
qualify1749
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xix. l. 455 Eche man sotileth a sleight synne forto hyde, And coloureth it for a kunnynge and a clene lyuynge.
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 117 Wich thynge þough it be nowe colourid per jus regale, yet it is tyranne.
1537 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monasteries (1843) 157 Abusys..clokyde and coloryde by the reformitors (so namede) of evere religion.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 7852 Þai colowrne hom coyntly with a cause febill.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. John f. 99v They shall colour out their wickednesse with pretense of godlynesse.
1585 C. Fetherston tr. J. Calvin Comm. Actes Apostles xxi. 26 False Nicodemites..goe about to colour their treacherous dissimulation.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 221 Menelaus with fiftie ships, sent him only one, with the models of the other in clay, to colour his perjury.
1644 J. Maxwell Sacro-sancta Regum Majestas i. 17 Our Puritans have from hence learned to colour and lustre their ugly Treasons..with the cloake of Religion.
1646 Earl of Monmouth tr. G. F. Biondi Hist. Civil Warres Eng. II. viii. 150 Richard had much adoe to colour over his Cruelties.
1661 E. Hickeringill Jamaica 77 All plausible Pretexts that witty usurpation doth use to colour and gild blacker Designes.
1726 J. Wesley Let. 6 Dec. (1931) I. 35 If I will not tell a downright lie..I will however colour and palliate everything.
1767 W. Guthrie Gen. Hist. Scotl. V. 132 They coloured it over to James with the specious pretence of public good, on account of the perambulatory administration of justice.
a1832 J. Mackintosh Hist. Revol. Eng. (1834) ii. 72 The King had coloured his interchange of ministers with the Roman court under the plausible pretext of maintaining diplomatic intercourse.
1862 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire VII. lix. 206 Armed bands who had coloured their brigandage under the name of patriotism.
1913 S. H. Lombardini Rival French Courts xix. 228 Her tyranny is quite unconcealed; she does not deign to colour it with the semblance of friendship.
2008 D. Runciman Polit. Hypocrisy v. 166 The government had hoped to use him as a kind of cover, to ‘colour’ their actions.
7.
a. transitive. To lend one's name to (another person's goods or money), for the purpose of avoiding custom duties or other charge; to represent or deal with as one's own. historical and rare after 18th cent.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > illegal or immoral trading > trade in (goods) illegally or immorally [verb (transitive)] > trade in other illegal or immoral ways
colour1419
laundera1961
gazunder1988
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, simulate, feign [verb (transitive)] > lay claim to, personate
counterfeitc1290
colour1419
personate1604
affecta1616
belie1616
sham1699
assume1714
personify1779
1419 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1834) II. 257 (MED) The Janneys at theire first traiete atte London coloured the takyng of owre good, affirmand that yt it was Florentyns good.
1468 in Essex Herald (1905) 11 Apr. 6/2 No freman coloure no foreynne ner foreyne's goode, to bey ner to selie.
1570 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1870) I. 20 That na man colour the gudis of vnfremen vnder coulour of his awin.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 246 Then they will be hardly able to Colour other Mens Moneyes, in the Country.
a1656 G. Goodman Court King James I (1839) I. 351 Their [sc. ambassadors'] servants did colour and transport other mens goods.
1685 S. Hayne Abstr. Statutes Aliens trading in Eng. Ep. Ded. Several Jews to whom His Majesty had been Graciously pleased to Grant Letters Patents of Denization..Had Owned and Coloured the Goods of other Jews.
1783 S. Douglas Rep. Court King's Bench 116 A person cannot be said to colour goods, unless he covers with his own name corn which he is neither owner of, nor employed to sell as a factor.
1905 Essex Herald 11 Apr. 6/2 Penalties for ‘colouring’ fish... An offence not unlike the preceding was for a freeman to buy nominally for himself, but really for an outsider.
b. transitive. to colour strangers' goods: to enter a foreign merchant's goods at the custom house under a freeman's name (see freeman n. 2), for the purpose of evading additional duties. historical and rare after 18th cent.
ΚΠ
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. xxxiv/1 The cowpers of his Cite haue vsed and dayly vse to colour straungers goodis.
1552 King Edward VI Jrnl. in Lit. Remains (1857) II. 402 When they had forfeited their liberties King Edward the Fourth did restore them on this condicion, (that they) shuld couler no straungers' goodes, wich they had done.
1602 R. Wilbraham Jrnl. (1902) 51 Mr Secretarie Cecyll hath divers treaties wherby H. 7, after King E. 6, Q. Marie, disanulled the great liberties of the Hans Townes in England: for that they colored stranger's goods.
1787 T. W. Williams Compend. Digest Statute Law 144 For preventing frauds in colouring strangers goods, the merchant shall subscribe a bill of every entry.
1894 M. Christy Voy. L. Foxe & T. James II. 657 (note) To colour strangers' goods was to enter the goods of a foreign merchant under the name of a freeman, in order to avoid the payment of the extra duty.
1991 D. H. Sacks Widening Gate (1993) iii. viii. 262 Although by custom they..could trade on their own account,..they often lacked the capital and the commercial outlets at home to take full advantage of the privilege. Hence they..might be tempted to color strangers' goods.
8. transitive. To affect or determine the nature or character of; to imbue with a particular quality; to influence.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > introduction or bringing in > introduce or bring something in [verb (transitive)] > infuse
sheda1325
bedew1340
distil1393
informa1398
transfusec1425
pourc1451
infudea1500
infuse1526
tan1530
colour1536
suck1549
imbrue1565
dewc1572
inspire1576
steep1603
infect1605
imbreathe1609
impregn1652
transfund1670
influence1691
bleed1866
render1885
taste1904
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > modify, qualify [verb (transitive)]
qualify1533
temperatea1540
take1542
season1604
disbend1607
condition1629
tinge1673
temper1711
shade1817
colour1882
1536 T. Starkey Pref. Kynges Hyghnes 27 Ye wyttes of witty persons, coloured with the spice of religion.
1629 J. Reynolds tr. L. de Marandé Iudgm. Humane Actions vi. vi. 314 Vertue is beloued and courted of all the world... Wee must water and colour our soule therewith.
1642 H. More Song of Soul in Wks. (1878) 37 The drooping soul so strongly's coloured With the long commerce of corporealls, That she from her own self awide is led.
1726 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey V. xxiii. 238 She colour'd all our wretched lives with woe.
1797 W. F. Mavor Hist. Acc. Most Celebrated Voy. XX. 155 An unbroken series of ills ran through his whole fate, and coloured his whole life.
1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi III. viii. iii. 144 Those emotions..coloured his whole soul.
1882 W. Ballantine Some Exper. Barrister's Life xii. 123 In all these cases it is the motive that colours the act.
1919 Urologic & Cutaneous Rev. Sept. 543/1 Everyone in Chicago did about as they pleased. That spirit seemed to take hold of the girls in particular and to color their actions for days.
1976 W. D. O'Flaherty Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythol. xi. 363 The Indo-European response to this power is to color it with good and evil and to divide it.
1987 K. Lette Girls' Night Out (1989) 67 She coloured all my views; my mind was like litmus paper, soaking up her every opinion.
2000 Independent on Sunday 5 Mar. (Travel section) 5/1 The native tongue, Comorian, is coloured by 1,000 years of maritime trade and is a melting-pot of Arabic, Swahili, Portuguese, Indian, Persian and French.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > agreement, concurrence, or unanimity > agree with [verb (transitive)]
to go ineOE
cordc1380
consentc1386
covin1393
condescend1477
agree1481
correspond1545
concur1590
to fall in1602
suffrage1614
to hit it1634
colour1639
to take with ——1646
to be with1648
to fall into ——1668
to run in1688
to think with1688
meet1694
coincide1705
to go in1713
to say ditto to1775
to see with ——1802
sympathize1828
1639 J. Fletcher et al. Bloody Brother iv. i. sig. G2v Your counsails colour not, With reason of state.
1648 J. Goodwin Right & Might 32 Nor doth the Act of the Army..colour, or shadow (in the least) with the act of the King.
1679 T. Hobbes Behemoth (unauthorized ed.) 96 The King's Act may be coloured with the good of his People.
1700 J. Sergeant Transnatural Philos. App. vii. 430 I doubt not but these Great Divines had some good meaning in it, tho' it colours not with my Thoughts.
Phrases
transitive. North American colloquial. colour me (also him, her, etc.) ——: used to indicate that a person can be regarded as ——; ‘consider me (him, her, etc.) ——’. Frequently humorous.Probably alluding to instructions in children's colouring books: cf. quot. 1927.‘Colour me blue!’ in quot. 1910 appears to be an exclamation of surprise or astonishment; cf. strike me pink! at strike v. 46c.
ΚΠ
1910 T. W. Hanshew Man of 40 Faces iii. 86 ‘I think it's Margot's gang.’ ‘Oh, colour me blue! Them beauties? And in London?’
1927 Maryland School Bull. Dec. i. 21 Pupils..follow directions independently... 4. I can play with you. I can run. I say ‘Bow, wow.’ Draw me. Color me brown.]
1963 Filter June 71/1 See me on the first page with a clean uniform... Color me eager.
1977 High Point (N. Carolina) Enterprise 7 Dec. 2 c/2 Make his eyes sparkle like diamonds, because that's what made his girls pocket a 46-32 victory. Color him a winner.
1992 T. McMillan Waiting to Exhale (1993) 42 Well, color me stupid, because I didn't want to believe he was seeing another woman.
2008 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 12 July a8/1 ‘Well, color me surprised... not.’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1c1300
n.21707
v.a1325- etc the lights out of a thing
- etc the liver and lights out of
- etc the liver and lights out of a person
- etc the liver and lights out of a thing
- etc the living daylight out of
- etc the living daylights out of
- etc the living shit, hell, etc, out of
- etc the living shit, hell, etc, out of a person
- etc the living shit, hell, etc, out of a thing
- etc the long handle
- etc the lowdown
- etc the lowdown on
- etc the mantle and the ring
- etc the mark
- etc the men from the boys
- etc the messages
- etc the mischief——?
- etc the mort
- etc the number
- etc the number of
- etc the old soldier
- etc the old soldier over a person
- etc the open man
- etc the overhand
- etc the pace