the.com/crimson
the red that started as a crushed bug and ended up royalty.
means A deep, rich red color leaning toward purple, like blood or a dark rose.
from From Old Spanish 'cremesin,' which came through Medieval Latin 'cremesinus' from Arabic 'qirmizi,' meaning 'of the kermes' — the kermes being a tiny scale insect (genus Kermes) crushed by the hatful to make a prized scarlet dye. That same Arabic root, ultimately traceable to a Sanskrit word for 'worm-made,' also gave us 'kermes' itself and is a cousin of 'carmine.' So the color's whole lineage is, quite literally, bug-derived royalty.
- bug origin
- Made from crushed cochineal insects for centuries
- dye trade
- Aztecs traded it; Spain hoarded the secret
- in your food
- Cochineal still colors some yogurt and candy
- name root
- From Arabic qirmizi, meaning the kermes insect
- harvard's pick
- Crimson is Harvard's official school color
crimson tide — university of alabama's football team, winning 18 national championships since 1925
harvard crimson — harvard university's athletic teams, competing since 1910