Crimson

For other uses, see Crimson (disambiguation).

Crimson
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#DC143C
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(220, 20, 60)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(348°, 91%, 86[1]%)
Source		X11
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Crimson is a strong, bright, deep red color. It is originally the color of the dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now also used as a generic term for those slightly bluish-red colors that are between red and rose; besides crimson itself, these colors include carmine, raspberry, ruddy, ruby, amaranth, and cerise.

History

Crimson (NR4) is produced using the dried bodies of the kermes insect, which were gathered commercially in Mediterranean countries, where they live on the Kermes oak, and sold throughout Europe.^[2] Kermes dyes have been found in burial wrappings in Anglo-Scandinavian York. They fell out of use with the introduction of cochineal, because although the dyes were comparable in quality and color intensity it needed ten to twelve times as much kermes to produce the same effect as cochineal.

Carmine is the name given to the dye made from the dried bodies of the female cochineal, although the name crimson is sometimes applied to these dyes too. Cochineal appears to have been discovered during the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniard Hernán Cortés, and the name 'carmine' is derived from the Spanish word for crimson. It was first described by Mathioli in 1549. The pigment is also called cochineal after the insect from which it is made.

Alizarin (PR83) is a pigment that was first synthesized in 1868 by the German chemists Carl Gräbe and Carl Liebermann and replaced the natural pigment madder lake. Alizarin crimson is a dye bonded onto alum which is then used as a pigment and mixed with ochre, sienna and umber. It is not totally colorfast.

Etymology

The word crimson has been recorded in English since 1400,^[3] and its earlier forms include cremesin, crymysyn and cramoysin (cf. cramoisy, a crimson cloth). These were adapted via Old Spanish from the Medieval Latin cremesinus (also kermesinus or carmesinus), the dye produced from Kermes scale insects, and can be traced back to Arabic qermez ("red"), also borrowed in Turkish kırmızı and many other languages, e.g. German Karmesin, Italian Cremisi, French cramoisi, etc. (via Latin). The ultimate source may be Sanskrit कृमिज kṛmi-jā meaning "worm-made".^[4]

A shortened form of carmesinus also gave the Latin carminus, from which comes carmine.

Other cognates include the Old Church Slavic čruminu and the Russian čermnyj "red". Cf. also vermilion.

Dyes

Main article: Carmine

Main article: Kermes (dye)

Carminic acid

Carmine dyes, which give crimson and related red and purple colors, are based on an aluminium and calcium salt of carminic acid. Carmine lake is an aluminium or aluminium-tin lake of cochineal extract, and Crimson lake is prepared by striking down an infusion of cochineal with a 5 percent solution of alum and cream of tartar. Purple lake is prepared like carmine lake with the addition of lime to produce the deep purple tone. Carmine dyes tend to fade quickly.

Carmine dyes were once widely prized in both the Americas and in Europe. They were used in paints by Michelangelo and for the crimson fabrics of the Hussars, the Turks, the British Redcoats, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Nowadays carmine dyes are used for coloring foodstuffs, medicines and cosmetics. As a food additive, carmine dyes are designated E120, and are also called cochineal and Natural Red 4. Carmine dyes are also used in some oil paints and watercolors used by artists.

Alizarin crimson

Main article: Alizarin crimson (color)

Alizarin crimson is an artificially created color, used to replace the harder to obtain rose madder.

Electric crimson

Electric Crimson
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#FF003F
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(255, 0, 63)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(345°, 100%, 100[5]%)
Source		Maerz and Paul
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color electric crimson.

Electric crimson is that tone of crimson which is precisely halfway between red and rose on the color wheel. In the 1930 book A Dictionary of Color, the color Crimson is shown as lying halfway between red and rose.^[6]

Folly

Folly
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#FF004F
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(255, 0, 79)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(341°, 100%, 100[7]%)
Source		Maerz and Paul
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color folly.

Folly is a color one-fourth of the way between crimson and rose, closer to crimson than to rose. The first recorded use of folly as a color name in English was in 1920.^[8]

Razzmatazz

Razzmatazz
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#E3256B
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(227, 37, 107)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(338°, 84%, 89[9]%)
Source		Crayola
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color razzmatazz.

This color is a rich tone of crimson-rose.

Razzmatazz was a new Crayola crayon color chosen in 1993 as a part of the Name The New Colors Contest.

KU Crimson

KU Crimson
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#E8000D
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(232, 0, 13)
Source		KU Visual Identity
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

KU Crimson, along with Blue, is an official color for the University of Kansas and its athletic teams, the Kansas Jayhawks. The color is referenced in the school's alma mater.^[10] While not an original color of the school, Crimson was suggested to honor a Harvard graduate who donated money for an athletic field at the school. ^[11]

Utah crimson

Logo of the University of Utah

Utah Crimson
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#D3003F
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(211, 0, 63)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(342°, 100%, 82.7[12]%)
Source		Internet
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color Utah crimson, the color which is symbolic of the University of Utah. Of all the universities that list crimson as an official color, the University of Utah is closest to the web color crimson (RGB 220, 20, 60).

The school's athletic booster organization is called the Crimson Club.^[13]

Harvard crimson

Logo of Harvard University

Harvard Crimson
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#C90016
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(201, 0, 22)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(353°, 100%, 79[14]%)
Source		Internet
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color Harvard crimson, the color which is symbolic of Harvard University.

The first recorded use of Harvard crimson as a color name in English was in 1928.^[15]

Crimson glory

The ornamental grape crimson glory vine autumn colors

Crimson Glory
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#BE0032
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(190, 0, 50)
Source		Plochere
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color crimson glory is displayed at right. It is a medium shade of crimson.

The color is a representation of the color of the flowers of the Crimson Glory Vine.

The first use of crimson glory as a color name in English was in 1948 when the Plochere Color System was inaugurated.

The source of the color name crimson glory is the Plochere Color System, a color system formulated in 1948 that is widely used by interior designers.^[16]

OU Crimson

OU Crimson
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#b20d35
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(178, 13, 53)
Source		Official Logos
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

OU Crimson, along with Cream, are the official colors for The University of Oklahoma, and its athletic teams, the Oklahoma Sooners. In the fall of 1895, Miss May Overstreet was asked to chair a committee to select the colors of the university. The committee decided the colors should be crimson and cream and an elaborate display of the colors was draped above a platform before the student body.^[17]

OU Crimson is also an official color for the National Weather Center.^[18]

Red devil

Red Devil
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#860111
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(134, 1, 17)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(353°, 99%, 53[19]%)
Source		Xona.com Color List
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

At right is displayed the color red devil.

The color name red devil for this dark tone of crimson has been in use since 2001, when it was promulgated as one of the colors on the Xona.com Color List.

Crimson in nature

Birds

• The Crimson Sunbird is the national bird of Singapore.
• The coxscomb of a rooster is colored a deep crimson color.

In popular culture

• Crimson is a name given to Rosso in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII for her red outfit and bloodthirsty nature.
• Crimson Skies is a video game about air pirates in an alternate universe 1930s North America.
• Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, or Project Zero II: Crimson Butterfly, 2004 game considered one of the scariest video games of all time.
• The King's Royal Hussars still wear crimson trousers as successors to the 11th Hussars (the "Cherrypickers").
• In Polish, karmazyn ('crimson') is also a synonym for a Magnate, i.e., a member of the nobility.
• The Greek letter organizations Delta Sigma Theta (ΔΣΘ), Kappa Alpha Psi (KAΨ), and Kappa Alpha Order (KA) use crimson as one of their official colors.
• Crimson is the school color of several universities, including Harvard University, Indiana University, New Mexico State University, Saint Joseph's University, University of Alabama, University of Belgrano, University of Mississippi, University of Oklahoma, University of Utah, Washington State University, Korea University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The daily newspaper at Harvard is called The Harvard Crimson, and the daily newspaper at Alabama is called The Crimson White. Harvard's athletic teams are the Crimson, while the University of Alabama competes as The Crimson Tide.
• In the United States Army, crimson is the color of the Ordnance Corps.
• Crimson Guard is a line of toys from the G.I. Joe universe, first released in 1985.

See also

• Amaranth (color)
• Red dye insects: Cochineal, Kermes vermilio, Polish cochineal
• List of colors
• Scarlet

References

1. ^ web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code of color #DC143C (Crimson):
2. ^ Naturenet article with images and description of Kermes vermilio and its foodplant
3. ^ The first recorded use of crimson as a color name in English was in 1400 according to the following book: Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930--McGraw Hill Page 193; Color Sample of Crimson: Page 31 Plate 4 Color Sample K6
4. ^ "American Heritage Dictionary", s.v. Kermes; also Kluge, "Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache", s.v. Karmesin, et al.
5. ^ web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code of color #FF003F (Electric Crimson):
6. ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930--McGraw Hill The color sample for the color crimson, indicated in the index on page 193, and displayed on Page 31, Plate 4, Color Sample K6, is indicated as lying halfway between red and rose. In modern color terminology in psychedelic art, the adjective "electric" indicates the brightest possible tone or a very bright tone of a color.
7. ^ web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code of color # FF004F (Folly):
8. ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930--McGraw Hill Page 195; Color Sample of Folly: Page 27 Plate 2 Color Sample J6; on the upper half of Plate 2, the color Folly is shown as being one-fourth of the way between crimson and rose, closer to crimson than to rose.
9. ^ web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code of color #E3256B (Razzmatazz):
10. ^ KU Traditions - "Crimson and the Blue"
11. ^ KU Traditions - The School Colors
12. ^ web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool:
13. ^ University of Utah Crimson Club:
14. ^ web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code of color #C90016 (Harvard Crimson):
15. ^ Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930--McGraw Hill Page 196; Color Sample of Harvard Crimson: Page 33 Plate 5 Color Sample J6
16. ^ Plochere Color System:
17. ^ Sooner Tradition - Crimson & Cream
18. ^ National Weather Center Logo
19. ^ web.forret.com Color Conversion Tool set to hex code #860111 (Red Devil):

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• Etymology OnLine