crimson

[krim-zuhn, -suhn]

adjective

1. deep purplish-red.

2. sanguinary.

noun

1. a crimson color, pigment, or dye.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make or become crimson.

crimson

/ ˈkrɪmzən /

noun

1. 1. a deep or vivid red colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      a crimson rose

verb

1. to make or become crimson

2. (intr) to blush

Other Word Forms

• crimsonly adverb
• crimsonness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of crimson¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English cremesin, cremesie, crensein, crim(e)sin, from Medieval Latin cremesīnus, ultimately from Arabic qirmizī, equivalent to qirmiz + -ī a suffix indicating relationship or origin; kermes; carmine, cramoisy

Word History and Origins

Origin of crimson¹

C14: from Old Spanish cremesin, from Arabic qirmizi red of the kermes, from qirmiz _kermes

Example Sentences

He moved the family business to Encinitas, where he bought 67 acres near the railroad and Interstate 5 and planted so many patented poinsettia plants that passersby were treated to crimson waves come November.

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Its crimson eyes almost glow with hunger and its pupils flatten in anger.

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We next enter a fictive chapel, with the Latin rite being celebrated by a set of crimson vestments and an altar cloth, made in Paris in 1619 and given by Louis XIII.

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“It actually doesn’t hurt that much,” Althouse said, as Soria pokes her arm with a needle that was just dipped into a pot of crimson ink.

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A sea of yellow—ocher, dandelion, goldenrod—seems to support a single tree backed by a dark vacuum, but as our eyes adjust, we realize a barn in deepest alizarin crimson dominates the scene.

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Related Words

• maroon