pea-greenadj.n.
/piːˈɡriːn/, U.S. /ˈpiˈɡrin/ A. adj.
Of the colour of fresh, green peas.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > [adjective] > other greens
beech-greenc1450
viper-greenc1602
sap-green1658
pea-green1752
leaf-green1810
lettuce green1834
Kendal green1866
jade-green1868
pistachio1875
lizard-green1897
mango1991
1752 S. Foote Taste ii. 28 Japan of the pea green Kind.
1779 H. L. Piozzi Diary 10 Feb. in K. C. Balderston Thraliana (1942) I. 367 We were..saying every body was like some Colour; & I think some Silk—Sophy Streatfield was to be a pea Green satten..& Johnson..was to be a Marone.
1841 S. Warren Ten Thousand a-Year I. i. 7 A queer kind of under-waistcoat, which in fact was only a roll-collar of rather faded pea-green silk.
1870 E. Lear Nonsense Songs, Stories, Bot. & Alphabets (1871) sig. 2a The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat.
1946 S. J. Perelman Keep it Crisp 91 He wore a pea-green play suit with deep, flaring lapels.
1992 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 8 Oct. 42/3 It is a rather showbizzy side, flashy, like his purple or pea-green suits.
B. n.
Usually in form pea green. A colour like that of fresh, green peas; a bright, nearly pure, but not deep green.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > [noun] > shade or tint of green > bright green
pea-green1770
lime1923
1770 E. Thompson Court of Cupid 62 Above the rest, majestic Elliot's seen, Deck'd in a modern mantle of pea-green.
a1798 T. Pennant Tour on Continent (1948) 48 Saw a piece of velvet, ground white, flowers a pea green.
1805 B. F. Sonnets & Other Poems 99 She had exchanged the sables of mourning, for a brocade of peagreen with silver flowers.
1861 L. L. Noble After Icebergs 99 All the adjacent deep is a luminous pea-green.
1883 F. Day Indian Fish 36 In some freshwater siluroids they [sc. the eggs] are of a light pea-green.
1955 C. Beaton Diary in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) xx. 286 Sofas are upholstered in timid, puky pea-greens, almonds and beiges.
2004 Newsday (N.Y.) (Nexis) 8 Feb. a.4 She also selected the site's color scheme, finding granny-apple green more appealing than pea green.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1752