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mollusque has added 21,757 words, 130 lists, 4,130 comments, and 14,806 tags.

Chromonyms

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

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

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

Thanks to the folks at Stevenson Hall who helped compile an early version of this list in 1980 or 1981.
Words 1 through 100 of 835 (view all)   next >

tony   has been listed 13 times with 3 comments

ibis   has been listed 12 times with 0 comments

pomona   has been listed 4 times with 1 comment

primrose   has been listed 21 times with 3 comments

mint   has been listed 32 times with 2 comments

wheat   has been listed 23 times with 0 comments

graphite   has been listed 11 times with 0 comments

zephyr   has been listed 136 times with 2 comments

verdaccio   has been listed 2 times with 0 comments

aphrodite   has been listed 15 times with 0 comments

tobac   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

soot   has been listed 10 times with 0 comments

pinecone   has been listed 8 times with 0 comments

teakwood   has been listed 2 times with 0 comments

glowworm   has been listed 10 times with 7 comments

seafoam   has been listed 17 times with 3 comments

saxe   has been listed 3 times with 0 comments

rouge   has been listed 31 times with 0 comments

lampblack   has been listed 12 times with 0 comments

partridge   has been listed 13 times with 0 comments

perruche   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

parrakeet   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

pickaninny   has been listed 3 times with 0 comments

perique   has been listed 2 times with 0 comments

loutre   has been listed 2 times with 0 comments

quercitron   has been listed 2 times with 0 comments

matelot   has been listed 3 times with 2 comments

tamarack   has been listed 11 times with 2 comments

tuscany   has been listed 3 times with 0 comments

coromandel   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

colcothar   has been listed 3 times with 1 comment

moccasin   has been listed 13 times with 0 comments

cochin   has been listed 2 times with 0 comments

regatta   has been listed 6 times with 0 comments

mango   has been listed 26 times with 1 comment

framboise   has been listed 10 times with 0 comments

azuline   has been listed 4 times with 0 comments

imperial   has been listed 22 times with 1 comment

jockey   has been listed 4 times with 0 comments

golf   has been listed 16 times with 20 comments

yucatan   has been listed 2 times with 0 comments

mexican   has been listed 4 times with 0 comments

cathay   has been listed 4 times with 0 comments

hopi   has been listed 3 times with 0 comments

sunburn   has been listed 5 times with 1 comment

reckitt   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

popinjay   has been listed 61 times with 3 comments

pewter   has been listed 19 times with 0 comments

petrol   has been listed 6 times with 0 comments

pervenche   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

musterdevillers   has been listed 6 times with 6 comments

murex   has been listed 4 times with 2 comments

minim   has been listed 13 times with 2 comments

magnolia   has been listed 35 times with 2 comments

lazulite   has been listed 2 times with 0 comments

horizon   has been listed 22 times with 1 comment

butternut   has been listed 8 times with 0 comments

rachel   has been listed 5 times with 0 comments

oyster   has been listed 27 times with 6 comments

modena   has been listed 3 times with 0 comments

vessey   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

kingfisher   has been listed 12 times with 0 comments

fesse   has been listed 2 times with 0 comments

forget-me-not   has been listed 12 times with 0 comments

peppermint   has been listed 24 times with 0 comments

avocado green   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

avocado   has been listed 44 times with 5 comments

vaseline   has been listed 4 times with 0 comments

plymouth   has been listed 3 times with 0 comments

cruiser   has been listed 8 times with 0 comments

genet   has been listed 4 times with 1 comment

genestrole   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

dyewood   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

broom   has been listed 13 times with 0 comments

toreador   has been listed 8 times with 4 comments

elderberry   has been listed 12 times with 1 comment

bruske   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

saddle   has been listed 14 times with 1 comment

mole   has been listed 25 times with 3 comments

jessamy   has been listed 6 times with 1 comment

tango   has been listed 21 times with 3 comments

sinoper   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

shrimp   has been listed 12 times with 0 comments

ramoneur   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

puke   has been listed 13 times with 5 comments

mordoré   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

minozin   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

mandarin   has been listed 26 times with 1 comment

isabel   has been listed 4 times with 0 comments

gingerline   has been listed 1 time with 0 comments

filemot   has been listed 4 times with 0 comments

royal   has been listed 22 times with 0 comments

sultan   has been listed 14 times with 0 comments

columbine   has been listed 15 times with 13 comments

cinder   has been listed 17 times with 2 comments

cherub   has been listed 26 times with 2 comments

pygmalion   has been listed 5 times with 0 comments

cattail   has been listed 7 times with 3 comments

musk   has been listed 20 times with 0 comments

empire   has been listed 20 times with 2 comments

Words 1 through 100 of 835 (view all)   next >
comments for this list
(add comments for specific words on the word pages themselves)
about 1 month ago thesaraheffect said:

Would rust qualify?

Edit: read first, speak later

6 months ago mollusque said:

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

6 months ago madmouth said:

how about anthracite?

7 months ago mollusque said:

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

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

7 months ago myth said:

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

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

about 1 year ago mollusque said:

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

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

about 1 year ago sarra said:

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

about 1 year ago mollusque said:

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

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

about 1 year ago sarra said:

8) lac, I think.
Oh, and 7) cobalt?

about 1 year ago sarra said:

An intriguing quiz — I'll be reading a lot about this!

about 1 year ago mollusque said:

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

Some of these have more than one answer.

about 1 year ago mollusque said:

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

about 1 year ago sionnach said:

Which is the fake? Enquiring minds need to know.

over 2 years ago palooka said:

What a list! Favorited.

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